INDIANAPOLIS – For a first-time participant, stepping on to The Academy floor can be a bit intimidating for the annual Midwest Region Crossover Volleyball Tournament. But multiple whistles, balls flying across courts and fans cheering, always makes for an exciting atmosphere.
The 12th edition of competition of the largest NCAA volleyball tournament didn't disappoint as 62 matches between 39 teams were completed in two days as Great Midwest Athletic Conference student-athletes put their talents on display.
All 13 schools from the Great Midwest played three contests and combined, came away with 10 victories for the league vs. the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
Three teams, No. 16 Hillsdale, Kentucky Wesleyan and Cedarville, went 2-1 during the weekend.
Hillsdale swept No. 17 Rockhurst and Saginaw Valley State in straight sets while almost pulling off a perfect weekend after a five-set nail biter that went down to the wire against No. 10 Lewis.
Kentucky Wesleyan impressed by digging in deep in marathon-like matches on Day 1, outlasting both Northwood (GLIAC) and Quincy (GLVC) in five sets. In a bid to go 3-0, the Panthers almost did the same vs. Southern Indiana in their finale with their third straight five-set decision.
Cedarville was the last team off the floor of the Crossover Tournament, captivating the lingering crowd with a dramatic finish in five sets over Northern Michigan (GLIAC). The Yellow Jackets also dropped the No. 4 GLVC seed on Saturday, Bellarmine, in four sets.
Earning one win for league bragging rights was Walsh, Lake Erie, Ursuline and Ohio Valley. The Fighting Scots scored one of the conference's first wins with a victory over Southwest Baptist.
Walsh had a tough draw with No. 13 Ferris State (GLIAC), the GLVC's top seed in Drury and a dangerous Missouri S&T team that went 3-0 over the weekend. The Cavaliers took one set from the nationally-ranked Bulldogs and defeated Drury in four sets.
Lake Erie ended the tournament on a high note, defeating William Jewell in four sets while Ursuline scored another five-set victory for the league over Lindenwood.
A total of 20 student-athletes were voted to the all-tournament as voted by statisticians representing all three conferences. The GLVC was allocated eight selections while the Great Midwest and GLIAC each had six award recipients.
From the Great Midwest, six different institutions were represented for their performances.
Hillsdale's dominant middle Allyssa Van Wienen hit .386 and averaged over four kills per set. Walsh's Amber King was among the leaders in blocks from all schools, averaging over 1 per game. The same applied to Malone senior libero Sydney Black as she was fourth among all players in dig totals.
KWC's Jaylen McEwen had 40 kills in 15 sets and was a major catalyst for the Panthers grinding out five-set wins. Ohio Valley's Yolaine Lopez was top 10 among all players in point production over the weekend and Cedarville's Liene Miller, a conference defensive player of the week this season, averaged almost five points per set.