The Great Midwest Athletic Conference “Snapshot Focus” is biweekly content designed to capture and summarize some of the league’s events in their primary season.
 
The first edition from the G-MAC effectively covers men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country and volleyball, spanning games played through September 4-7.


 
MEN'S SOCCER

The season kicked off on Thursday with six games and continued over the weekend with five more contests, including a rare Sunday neutral site matchup of potential postseason programs in Davis & Elkins and Quincy.

The opening weekend was a rough one around the G-MAC as the teams combined to go just 2-9 with the only wins coming from Cedarville against Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) and Trevecca against Southern Indiana. Three of the five losses came by one goal including a double overtime loss by Cedarville on the road at Saginaw Valley State.

The Yellow Jackets scored four goals in its opener, including a pair from Zachary Harris. In goal, Cedarville’s Paulo Pinto allowed just one goal over two plus games (152 minutes).

Men's Soccer Quick Links:  Recent Results  |  Composite Schedule  |  Overall Statistics  |  Recent Statistics  |  Standings


WOMEN'S SOCCER

The G-MAC women’s schedule began on Thursday with a pair of 3-1 wins for Cedarville and Ursuline, the preseason favorites in the conference over Urbana and Concord respectively. Friday and Saturday were not as successful as the teams combined to go 1-3 with Kentucky Wesleyan posting the only win, coming against Brescia 3-0.

Davis & Elkins ended the weekend with a 0-0 double overtime tie against California (Pa.), who entered the season ranked #12 in the nation. The Lady Jackets, Arrows, and Panthers each scored three goals over the weekend. Reigning women’s soccer and overall conference player of the year, Jacoby Ziegler scored a pair of goals in her only game, while Annie Elder scored a pair and added an assist in leading KWC to its win.

Women's Soccer Quick Links:  Recent Results  |  Composite Schedule  |  Overall Statistics  |  Recent Statistics  |  Standings

VOLLEYBALL

A total of 28 matches around the league were contested this weekend as tournament action was in full swing to begin the fall…Cedarville and Kentucky Wesleyan, each split a pair of matches on Opening Day…Trevecca officially brought home the first G-MAC win of the year with a straight-set sweep against Miles…Cedarville and Ursuline were both on the short end of closely-contested five-set thrillers on Friday night…The new volleyball era for Salem International was ushered in with the program’s effort against Mercyhurst University.
 
Alderson Broaddus also tangled with a program receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Preseason Coaches Poll, Harding University.
 
On Saturday, Ursuline was propelled by a pair of straight-set sweeps (stats not available at the time of release) versus West Virginia State and Tuskegee to start out of the gates with a 2-1 record. Cedarville and Kentucky Wesleyan both emerged with 2-2 records while several other schools are in search of their first win of the fall.
 
Through stats reported numbers wise, G-MAC Freshman of the Year and returning kills leader Katelyn Atkinson (Trevecca) was a force along the front line in four matches to take the early conference lead in kills and kills per set while three players were able to hit above a .300 clip, defending G-MAC Player of the Year Hannah Wagner (Cedarville), Delaney Hearne (Trevecca) and Jayla McCrary (Alderson Broaddus).
 
Imani Ward (Ohio Valley) averaged close to 3.5 kills per set and Fighting Scots’ setter Jessica Simpson averaged 8.5 assists in 10 sets played. Trevecca setter Loren Bennett eclipsed the century mark in assists on opening weekend, accumulating 124 in the Trojans’ 2-2 start to the season.

Volleyball Quick Links:  Recent Results  |  Composite Schedule  |  Overall Statistics  |  Recent Statistics  |  Standings
 
 
MEN'S & WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
 
The No. 16 Cedarville and Trevecca men’s units both asserted themselves on the course in Mason, Ohio, finishing back-to-back as a team (8th/9th) in the season-opening Queen City Invitational 5K…Cedarville’s first-team all-conference performer Ben Tuttle and Trevecca’s G-MAC Freshman of the Year Logan Rodgers placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in a field of almost 250 runners to highlight a strong league effort.
 
Both the Cedarville and Trevecca women also contested for team titles, paced by the efforts of their standout performers, Olivia Esbenshade (4th overall) and Caroline Hampton (17th of 185), respectively.
 
The Yellow Jackets of Cedarville were second at the Stegemoller Classic 4K while the Trojans from Trevecca earned sixth in a field of 20 teams in the Queen City Invitational, an impressive second out of 14 programs in the non-Division I portion of the final team standings.
 
Davis & Elkins hosted the Forest Festival Invitational on Saturday morning with Ohio Valley’s Andrew Shaffer stealing the show for the men in the 8K race with a time of 30:54.00, narrowly edging out Scott Nesland of Alderson Broaddus, who crossed the line in a close second at 31:02.90.
 
In the women’s competition, host Davis & Elkins’ Ellen Cantaral was the runner-up individually while Hannah Surface (Alderson Broaddus) and April Kirk (Ohio Valley) both finished within the top five in a field of 35 competitors.

Cross Country Quick Links:  Recent Results  |  Men's Composite Schedule  |  Women's Composite Schedule