By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---The No. 9 Owens Community College women's volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking five set loss to Wallace State Community College - Hanceville after being up two sets in today's opener of the Owens Invitational in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC), but bounced back to defeat Lansing Community College in four sets to close out day one.
Match 1: Wallace State - Hanceville d. Owens 18-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-13
The No. 9 Owens Community College women's volleyball team dominated NJCAA Division I Wallace State Community College - Hanceville over the first two sets, but opened the third set down 10-0 en route to unraveling and taking a five set loss.
In that third set, Owens battled back to force only a three point loss. They faced another large deficit in the fourth set before falling by seven points. In the fifth, Wallace State jumped out to a 13-6 lead, but Owens rallied with six straight points to get the crowd going.
Wallace State got the next point to take a 14-12 lead, but Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) got the next point via a kill from the left side to keep Owens alive. On the next point, each team traded an offensive chance before a Wallace State free ball was mishandled by Owens for match point.
Wallace State, winners of four straight following the conclusion of the match, improved to 6-2 overall, while Owens fell to 3-2. Both of the losses for Owens are to NJCAA Division I teams, though.
Hartings finished with a team-high 12 kills. Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) added 10 and Annie Lindeman (Ottoville/Ottoville, Ohio) had nine. Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) had a team-high 24 assists, and Christine Tylutki (Monroe/Monroe, Mich.) had 18.
Smith produced a team-high three aces, and three others had two apiece. Three players had double digit digs including Brooke Gyori (Clay/Oregon, Ohio) (14), Reigelsperger (11) and Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) (10). Tylutki also had nine.
At the net, Tyanna Smith (Bowling Green/Bowling Green, Ohio) led the way in blocks with six (two solo), and three others added three apiece.
Match 2: Owens d. Lansing 25-16, 17-25, 25-19, 25-15
Despite a not so good second set that featured a negative hitting percentage, Owens dominated Lansing in the nightcap to remain undefeated against NJCAA Division II teams this year.
Reigelsperger and Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) each had a team-high 11 kills, while Abigail Hesselschwardt (Otsego/Grand Rapids, Ohio) added nine. Hartings and Mikesell also had eight apiece to help a balanced offensive attack.
As a team, Owens hit .293 despite hitting -.029 in the second set thanks to percentages of .393, .417 and .440 in sets 1, 3 and 4, respectively. Hesselschwardt led the way with nine kills and zero errors on 14 attacks for a .643 hitting percentage.
For the first time in six matches, Tylutki was able to overtake her sophomore counterpart, Deanna Smith, for the team-high in assists. She had 27 compared to Smith's 21.
Hartings and Deanna Smith each had a team-high three aces, while Gyori produced 23 digs. Reigelsperger added 11 digs, and Mikesell had eight.
Reigelsperger paced Owens at the net with five blocks. Lindeman added eight.
Next Up
Owens (4-2) will take on Vincennes University at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the earlier matchup before closing things out against Hagerstown Community College at 6:45 p.m. The Vincennes match will be broadcasted on BCSN.
The Hagerstown match will be streamed live online. A link will be posted on our social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) with a direct link sometime Saturday evening before the match.