By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Grand Rapids, Mich.---Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) totaled 30 kills to lead the No. 8 Owens Community College women's volleyball team to a pair of wins in the Grand Rapids Invitational today, including a straight set win over No. 10 McHenry County College.
Owens closes out play in the invitational tomorrow with matches against No. 14 St. Clair County Community College and Kellogg Community College. Follow us on Twitter (@owensexpress) for live set updates.
Match 1: No. 8 Owens d. No. 10 McHenry County 25-22, 25-17, 27-25
Reigelsperger had 12 of her 30 kills against McHenry with a .435 hitting percentage, while Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) added 10. Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) chipped in five as the trio combined for 27 of the team's 35 kills.
As a team, Owens hit .228 in the match. Aside from Reigelsperger, Brooke Gyori (Clay/Oregon, Ohio) hit. .667, Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) hit .333 and Hartings hit .304.
The tandem of Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) and Christine Tylutki (Monroe/Monroe, Mich.) combined for 31 of the team's 32 assists with Smith producing a team-high 21.
Gyori had a team-high 15 digs, although all but four players picked up at least one. Samantha Reer (St. Paul/Norwalk, Ohio) was second with nine, while Mikesell had eight, Smith had six and Reigelsperger had five.
Reigelsperger led the team with five blocks (three solo), while Tylutki added three (two solo).
As a team, Owens produced 11 total blocks (seven solo).
McHenry fell to 22-6 overall with the loss.
Match 2: No. 8 Owens d. Oakland 17-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-19
Reigelsperger consistently attacked Oakland in today's second match. After picking up four kills in a first set loss, the sophomore totaled three in the second set, six in the third and five in the fourth en route to a season-high 18 kills.
Despite Reigelsperger's .500 hitting percentage in the first set, Owens struggled by hitting just .105 as a team in the set. It would only get better, though.
Led by Reigelsperger and Tyanna Smith (Bowling Green/Bowling Green, Ohio), who had three second set kills in six attempts, Owens evened the match at one. The duo combined for six of the team's nine kills in the second frame. Furthermore, Owens improved its hitting to .259.
In the third set, it was Reigelsperger (6) and Hartings (4), who combined to lead the way as the duo combined for 10 of the 14 kills in the set. Then, in the fourth set, Owens got at least two kills from four players led by Reigelsperger and followed by Hartings (3), Purcell (3) and Tyanna Smith (2).
Another key aspect of the third and fourth sets was the play of Mikesell, who totaled nine digs in each set en route to a team-high of 27. She had at least four in every set, while also producing four kills, one assist and one ace in the match.
Reigelsperger finished with a .405 hitting percentage. Tyanna Smith led the team in that category, however, as she hit. 500.
Hartings finished second on the team in kills with nine. Purcell and Tyanna Smith each added six.
Deanna Smith (25) and Tylutki (18) had 43 of the team's 46 assists. Four players had at least one assist, including Gyori, who had two of the team's other three assists.
Defensively, Owens got a strong team effort as five players had at least 10 digs. Gyori finished second behind Mikesell with 20, while Reer, Tylutki and Reigelsperger each added 10.
Tylutki and Tyanna Smith each had a team-high four blocks, with two coming of the solo variety for each player. Reigelsperger added three.
As a team, Owens had 13 blocks (five solo) while totaling 90 digs defensively.
Notes
The win over No. 10 McHenry County means Owens has two wins over top 11 ranked teams since last Friday. They defeated No. 11 Kirkwood on Sept. 18.
Tylutki now has at least 10 digs in 10 matches this year, with nine coming since Sept. 4. Also, after not recording any blocks through the season's first 10 matches, the freshman now has at least one in every match, nine matches of at least three during that stretch and at least two solo blocks in four of the past five matches.
Mikesell now has 14 matches of 10 or more digs this year. Her 27 against Oakland was just one shy of her season-high set on Sept. 18. She has at least one kill and five digs in every match, and she is 41 digs shy of matching her dig total from all of last season in 22 fewer matches.
Hartings now has 773 career kills. She has nine or more in 11 straight matches.
Reigelsperger, who is right behind Hartings with 761 career kills, has hit .400 or better nine times after reaching that mark in both matches today. She has double digit kills in all but six matches with no fewer than five in any match. She also recorded her fifth match of 10 or more digs this year and has three or more blocks in 10 straight matches. Furthermore, she eclipsed 400 career digs with her 15 total today.
Gyori now has 10 matches of at least 20 digs this year. She has double figures on all but two and in 11 straight. She has 20 or more digs in six of the past eight matches and has totaled at least one ace in all but three matches.