GREENWOOD, Ind. – An in-depth look around the Great Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball activity through two weeks into the regular season.
Quick Hits: The G-MAC is still finding its footing around a busy non-conference schedule with a heavy dose of neutral tournament action…The start of the conference schedule is still a week away with G-MAC teams going head-to-head on Friday, Sept. 25…The eight-team league is broken down into separate divisions this fall, Black and Blue…Ohio Valley, Salem International and Trevecca Nazarene, all have four wins this season…Ursuline hosted future 2017 G-MAC member Walsh to officially play the first match in the new Sister Diana Stano Athletic Center…TNU’s Katelyn Atkinson and OVU’s Alyx Henry have both received G-MAC Athlete of the Week honors…Currently, the G-MAC is looking for its first team to crack .500 in the win-loss column.
Supreme Single-Match Superlative: Against future G-MAC 2017 member Hillsdale, Cedarville’s Abby Shelton ripped a season-high 24 kills against the Chargers…Only one other player has had 20 kills or more this season when TNU’s Atkinson had 20 against Oakland City…Also against Oakland City, TNU setter Loren Bennett had a G-MAC season-best 52 assists…Megan Morrison (Ohio Valley) and Lauren Hogan (Alderson Broaddus) each have recorded 38 digs in matches this year.
Pack the Bleachers: In front of 1,176 fans, Cedarville rode the wave of momentum in the Callan Athletic Center to beat Indianapolis in five sets back on Sept. 8…The turnout represented a school record and a new single-match G-MAC benchmark for attendance.
G-MAC Leaders: Team leaders are pretty evenly distributed across the board in certain categories…Cedarville leads in hitting percentage, Trevecca Nazarene leads in opponent hitting percentage, Ohio Valley leads in digs, Ursuline leads in service aces and Alderson Broaddus leads in blocks…Reigning G-MAC Player of the Year Alyx Henry is averaging 3.91 kills per set…Bennett is setting up teammates to the tune of 9.42 assists per set…Emily Adkinson of Ursuline was one of the nation’s leaders in attacking percentage a year ago -- she suffered an injury late in the match against Walsh…Rachel Krikke of Cedarville has taken over the lead in that category as the Yellow Jackets continue to handle the court without a strong departed senior class.
Looking Ahead: The conference opener is looming ahead for all teams as Cedarville gears up to defend three years running owning the G-MAC Championship title…This year’s six-team G-MAC Championship is being conducted at a neutral site in Mason, OH, in Mason Arena beginning on Nov. 19…The tournament winner will cash in an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional.
Rising Rookies: Frontline newcomers Janessa Hodge and Alex Reuter, both of Trevecca Nazarene, are emerging as defensive forces by the net…Hodge leads the conference in blocks per set (0.92) while Reuter is not far behind in fourth (0.82 bps)…Rookie setter Katelyn Selleny has been tasked with leading the offense for Ursuline and she average 8.0 assists per set…Freshman defensive specialist Nicole Venema of Kentucky Wesleyan is currently sixth in digs per set.
Helium Watch: After racking up five wins in its first season as a program, Salem International is already one win away from equaling that total this year…The Tigers are one of three teams logjammed with four wins in the Black division with Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley…SIU has beaten West Virginia Tech twice, Pfeiffer and Johnson C. Smith…Sophomore all-conference outside Rachel Hess leads the team with 90 kills and a 2.73 average per set.
Re-Writing Records: Trevecca Nazarene senior setter Loren Bennett has 1,620 assists in her career entering the weekend…She will most likely pass Kayla Peterson (1,784) and Molly Hilfinger (1,912) to finish third all-time in the league’s young history…Her Trojans’ teammate Atkinson started the season one kill shy of 800…She has 915 career kills and will cross the 1,000-career kill milestone later this year along with OVU’s Alyx Henry…Henry sits at 995 kills going into Saturday and she has her sights set on the all-time record of 1,076.
On the National Radar: Defensive prowess is the name of the game when comparing some of the G-MAC’s individuals to the national pool...Defensive specialist Megan Morrison (Ohio Valley) is ranked 14th in the country in digs per set while AB’s Hogan checks in at 22nd overall in total digs…Salem International’s Jen Foreman ranks just outside the top 50 nationally in aces per set…Kentucky Wesleyan battled an AVCA top-10 program, Wayne State (Neb.), earlier in the season while other schools have faced future league members Lake Erie, Findlay, Hillsdale, Ohio Dominican, Malone and Walsh, scattered early on throughout the schedule.
NCAA Championship Watch: The G-MAC receives its first automatic qualifier in the sport of volleyball this year for the NCAA Championship…The automatic berth will go to the winner of the G-MAC Championship…An additional at-large selection(s) may also be in play depending on regional rankings and in/out-of-conference performance.