By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Champaign, Ill.---The No. 7 Owens Community College women's volleyball team opened up a tough four-game weekend in the Parkland Invitational by splitting a pair of matches against No. 8 Des Moines Area Community College and No. 11 Kirkwood College.
With the split, Owens is now 14-4 overall this year. They will face No. 3 Johnson County Community College at 10 a.m. tomorrow before closing out the weekend with an 11:45 a.m. tilt against Iowa Central Community College.
Match 1: No. 8 Des Moines Area d. No. 7 Owens 30-28, 16-25, 27-25, 25-22
In a match that featured many long points and several close sets, Des Moines Area came out on top in four sets to win a battle between top 10 teams.
Owens produced a season-high 120 digs with six players achieving season-highs in that category.
Brooke Gyori (Clay/Oregon, Ohio) led the way with 35 digs, while Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) had 28, Christine Tylutki (Monroe/Monroe, Mich.) had 14, Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) had 13, Samantha Reer (St. Paul/Norwalk, Ohio) had 12 and Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) had 10.
Every player for Owens had at least one dig in the match.
Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) had a team-high 16 kills with Reigelsperger adding 14. The next closest was Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.), who had eight.
Smith set a new season-high for assists in the match with 28, although it took her just one match to break that against Kirkwood. Tylutki added 18 assists against Des Moines Area.
Gyori had two of the team's six aces, while four others added one each.
Reigelsperger had a team-high four blocks, with two of them of the solo variety. Tylutki chipped in three.
Match 2: No. 7 Owens d. No. 11 Kirkwood 25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18
After having their seven match winning streak snapped, Owens got back on track with a four set win over No. 11 Kirkwood in the second match of the day.
Once again, Hartings had 16 kills. This time, however, she vastly improved her hitting percentage - finishing at .351 after a .174 vs Des Moines Area. Reigelsperger added 15 kills and a .423 hitting percentage. Purcell added 10 kills, and Gyori had a season-high two kills and a .667 hitting percentage.
Smith recorded 30 assists, which broke her season-high set one match earlier against Des Moines Area. Tylutki chipped in 20, as well. The two of them had 50 of the team's 54 assists.
Mikesell had two of the team's three aces, while Gyori (17), Smith (11) and Tylutki (10) led the team in digs. Reer and Mikesell also produced nine each.
Similar to the first match, Reigelsperger led the team with five digs (one solo), while Hartings had four (two solo).
Notes
One match after hitting a season-low .110 as a team, Owens hit .271 against Kirkwood.
In the second match, the team also produced its seventh match this year with at least 10 blocks and recorded its third highest dig total of the season.
Due to the efforts of Smith and Tylutki, Owens also recorded a season-high 54 assists against Kirkwood.
Reer's previous season-high in digs was eight. She topped that twice today.
The 16 kills in each match for Hartings sets a new season-high. She has at least 11 kills in five of the past six matches.
Reigelsperger, meanwhile, has at least 12 kills in four of the past five matches. Her 15 kills vs Kirkwood is one off her season-high. She also now has 10 matches this year with at least 10 kills, five digs and one block. The sophomore has recorded a season-high five blocks seven times this year.
Gyori's 35 digs broke her previous season-high of 29 set on Sept. 4 against Sinclair. She has double digit digs in all but two matches this year.