By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---The Owens Community College women's volleyball team opened up the second day of the Owens Invitational with a tough, five-set loss to NJCAA Division II No. 18 Catawba Valley Community College before dropping a four-set match to NJCAA Division I No. 18 Wallace State Community College - Hanceville in the nightcap.
In the second match, the fourth set ended when an attack from Sara Turner-Smith (Cardinal Stritch/Toledo, Ohio) landed in the back right corner of the court. The ball was called out, however, and Owens dropped the set 26-24.
Match 1: NJCAA Div. II No. 18 Catawba Valley d. Owens 25-23, 15-25, 21-25, 26-24, 19-17
Owens let a 23-21 first set lead, as well as a 23-19 fourth set lead, slip away as they dropped a five set match to Catawba Valley to open the day. Despite trailing 4-0 early, Owens also had a 10-7 advantage in the fifth set, plus a couple match points before Catawba Valley sealed it.
Similar to last night, Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) and Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) combined for 37 kills. This time, Reigelsperger led the way with 20, while Hartings had 17. Reigelsperger added 12 digs, three aces and five assisted blocks, while Hartings added one assist, four digs and two assisted blocks.
Aside from those two, Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) had eight kills, while Amara Hemenway (Bellevue/Bellevue, Ohio) added seven. Jessica Cooper (Brandywine/Niles, Mich.) led the team with 32 assists, while Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) had 20.
Hemenway led the team in aces with five, while Aricka LaVoy (Eastwood/Pemberville, Ohio) added four. Cooper and Reigelsperger also each had three aces. As a team, serving helped and hurt Owens. They totaled 19 aces, while also making 10 service errors.
Ciarra Wirick (Benjamin Logan/West Liberty, Ohio) had a team-high 25 digs, while Cooper added 13 and Reigelsperger had 12. Smith nearly also got double figures, but finished with nine.
The team's lone solo block came from Purcell, while Reigelsperger's five assisted blocks was a team-high. Kayla Siefker (Kalida/Ottawa, Ohio) and Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) each added three assisted blocks as Owens totaled 16 as a team.
Match 2: NJCAA Div. 1 No. 18 Wallace State - Hanceville d. Owens 25-22, 17-25, 25-14, 27-25
The match that ended on a controversial finish saw Reigelsperger (12) and Hartings (11) combine for 23 kills, while Purcell (8), Hemenway (7) and Mikesell (7) also helped out.
Smith (21) and Cooper (18) led the team in assists, while Smith and Hemenway each had a team-high three aces. Wirick (23) and Reigelsperger (10) led in digs. The team's lone solo block came from Reigelsperger, while Mikesell and Hartings each had a team-high four blocks.
As a team, Owens was hurt by 22 attack errors and a .200 hitting percentage.
Next Up
Owens (5-3) will take on McHenry County College at 10 a.m. on Sunday to open the third and final day of the Owens Invitational. Then, at 1:30 p.m., the team will play NJCAA Division II No. 13 Muskegon Community College.
Live Streaming
You can watch both matches online by visiting www.ihigh.com/owenscc. Links to each match will be posted at the live events area at the top of the page prior to each match. You can also watch the archived matches from each of the first two days at the same link.
Stats
Reigelsperger reached 100 kills, as she now has 111 through eight matches...Smith (174) and Cooper (154) lead in assists...LaVoy (15) leads in aces...Wirick (125) leads in digs as she also reached 100 tonight on the season...Full stats can be found here