By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---On the same day they moved up to No. 5 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll, the Owens Community College women's volleyball team swept Cuyahoga Community College 25-6, 25-9, 25-16 at home.
Owens jumped on Cuyahoga early by the tune of a 16-1 start. After three straight Cuyahoga points, Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) had a left side kill to end the rally and continue the route.
In the second set, Owens opened with an 8-1 lead before winning by 16. The third set was a little closer, but controlled by Owens from start to finish.
Brooke Gyori (Clay/Oregon, Ohio) had a team-high 28 digs to eclipse 500 digs in her freshman season, while sophomore Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) added 12 to eclipse 600 in her career.
Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) also continued her impressive play by totaling a team-high 14 kills with zero errors over 22 chances. Abby Hesselschwardt (Otsego/Grand Rapids, Ohio) added seven kills. Both players totaled a .636 hitting percentage.
Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) hit .600 with six kills. Hartings finished second on the team in kills with nine. It was her 20th straight match with at least eight kills.
Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) returned after a three plus match absence due to injury and had a team-high 20 assists. Christine Tylutki (Monroe/Monroe, Mich.) added 15.
Along with her 28 digs, Gyori also led the team with four aces. Smith added two.
Reigelsperger had a team-high three blocks (one solo), while three others added two.
Owens has now won nine straight to improve its record to 23-5 overall and 9-0 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play. They will head to North Carolina this weekend for another tough test against some of the nation's top competition.
Notes
Owens opens this weekend on Friday against NJCAA Division II No. 10 Pasco-Hernando State College before facing host school Catawba Valley Community College. It gets tougher from there as the team faces a pair of NJCAA Division I teams on Saturday in Spartansburg Methodist and Monroe College, the latter of which carries an undefeated record this year.
Owens will return home next Wednesday and Friday against Lakeland Community College and Lorain County Community College.