A Pair of Sweeps for the V-Hawks

OMAHA, Neb. – The Viterbo University Women's Volleyball team, ranked #5 in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, secured a pair of sweeps on the road in day one of the CSM Labor Day Classic tournament. Viterbo topped the Peru State College Bobcats (NE) 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14), then bested the College of Saint Mary Flames (25-19, 25-18, 31-29). The V-Hawks improve to 4-5 on the year, while the Bobcats fall to 2-3 and the Flames sit at 5-3.

In the first match, Viterbo would build an early lead with the help of back to back kills by Jada Mitchell, service aces by Kenidi McCabe, and two more kills by Hailee Halverson. The rally began from there though Martina McGrath, Izzy Jahr, and Sadie Treptow's assisted blocks would keep the V-Hawks in the lead. A four point run would place VU up 22-9, Halverson with two more kills late in the set, and a Peru State error would end the set 25-12.

Callie Kowal set up Mitchell and Jahr for kills that brought the V-Hawks back into the set. Mia Quist's services would set VU up to capitalize on kills by Grace Peyron and McGrath from Kowal. Maddie Connor would assist Halverson in the kill that ended set two 25-23.

The V-Hawks would take a 9-3 lead in the third set ending in a service error. A kill by Halverson would set the V-Hawks in motion carrying the momentum until McGrath's final kill of the match set up by Connor ending 25-14.

Halverson led all players with 11 kills, while Mitchell would follow closely behind with 10 and hitting .400. Connor and Kowal were quite the set up with 15 assists each, and McCabe had 20 digs. Eden Moore would have seven kills and 11 digs for the Bobcats.

In their second match of the day the V-Hawks would jump out and take at 9-2 lead. Connor's assists would set the V-Hawks up for success with two kills by Halverson to take set one 25-19.

The V-Hawks would start from behind in the second set with Treptow officially putting VU on the board. Blocks by Mitchell, Halverson, and Peyron would propel the V-Hawks forward jumping into the lead. A Connor kill pushed the V-Hawks to the win of set two 25-18.

Mitchell and Treptow would set the tone of the third set with a block. Halverson with three kills in a row followed shortly by a Jahr kill would give the V-Hawks the lead once again. V-Hawk errors would bring the Flame's back into the game though a kill by Mitchell from Kowal would tie the set 24-24. On a Kowal service Mitchell and Peyron's block would seal the final score 31-29 ending the match.

Mitchell recorded a match high of 14 kills on .600 hitting. Angst had 10 digs, Connor dished 22 assists, and McGrath had six blocks. Liz Henrichson had 9 kills and Elen Pruett had 22 assists for the Flames.

The V-Hawks return to action on Saturday, August 31 as they take on Concordia (NE) and Saint Francis (IND).