By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Phoenix, Ariz.---The No. 9 Owens Community College women's volleyball team won a pair of thrilling, five set matches in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament today.
With the wins, Owens stays alive in the consolation bracket and will face Northeastern Oklahoma at 11 a.m. E.T. tomorrow in the ninth/10th place match.
Match 1: Owens d. Sauk Valley 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9
Owens jumped out to a two set lead, but dropped the next two sets by the closest of margins to set up a fifth set, where Tyanna Smith (Bowling Green/Bowling Green, Ohio) produced three of her season-high 14 kills in the set's final five points to give her team the win.
In the first set, Owens produced 17 kills from seven different players. Samantha Reer (St. Paul/Norwalk, Ohio) closed out the set with a kill, while Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) and Taylor Purcell (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) each totaled four kills along the way.
The second set swung back-and-forth until Owens rattled off four of five total points to take a 12-8 lead. Moments later, the lead was 14-10 after a Smith kill. An Owens service error pulled Sauk Valley within 19-16 later in the set, but a bad pass from Sauk Valley started a 6-1 run by Owens to close the set. Reigelsperger got the final point with her sixth kill of the match.
Despite ties at 1-1 and 4-4, Sauk Valley controlled Owens early in the third set and led 9-6. Erika Hartings (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) picked up her fifth kill and then produced a block to bring Owens within one, but Sauk Valley rattled off four straight points to gain momentum.
Owens chipped away, however and turned a two point deficit into a 20-18 lead. During that small stretch, Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) picked up her sixth kill and two Sauk Valley attacks went awry, while Purcell and Smith teamed up on a block to complete the 4-0 run.
Sauk Valley responded by calling a timeout and scoring five of the next six points before Annie Lindeman (Ottoville/Ottoville, Ohio) punched her second kill of the match to bring Owens within one. Despite Smith's eighth kill, Sauk Valley responded by finishing off Owens with two kills over the final three points to take the set by two.
Reigelsperger picked up kills No. 11 and 12 early in the fourth set to give Owens a 3-2 lead, but Sauk Valley continued its momentum from the third set and led 14-10. Owens rallied to tie the set at 15 and 16 via kills from Reigelsperger, Hartings and Smith, but Sauk Valley took a back-and-forth fourth set 25-23.
For the fourth straight set, Sauk Valley opened the fifth by scoring the first point. Ashley Pleiman (Fort Loramie/Fort Loramie, Ohio) and Smith then teamed up for a block to tie it. Following that, Owens got a break when a Pleiman block was ruled to have touched a Sauk Valley player before going out of bounds. Sauk Valley responded to tie the set with a kill, but Reigelsperger picked up kill No. 17 and Owens eventaully led 6-3.
Kills from Reigelsperger and Mikesell had Owens up 9-6 before Smith and Pleiman combined to add four kills down the stretch as Owens got a 15-9 fifth set win.
Reigelsperger finished with a team-high 18 kills, while Smith finished second with her 14 kills. Hartings also finished in double figures with 11, and Mikesell came close with nine.
Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) led the team in assists with 29, while Christine Tylutki (Monroe/Monroe, Mich.) had 22. Tylutki was injured late in the match and did not play in the second match.
Brooke Gyori (Clay/Oregon, Ohio) led the team in digs with 34. Reer and Deanna Smith each added 14. Mikesell had 12, and Tylutki had 10.
Tyanna Smith led the team in blocks with six (three solo), and Hartings had four (two solo).
With the win, Owens improved to 2-2 this year in five set matches. Sauk Valley's season ended at 33-10 overall.
Match 2: Owens d. McHenry County 19-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 15-10
Owens battled back from one set deficits twice to keep its season alive in tonight's finale.
The first set was tied at 8-all before McHenry started to take control and eventually led 17-13. Owens battled back with three straight points, but McHenry didn't relinquish the lead en route to a first set win.
Reigelsperger got things started well for Owens in the second set by picking up three kills early to give Owens a 5-0 lead. Another Reigelsperger kill gave Owens a 13-8 lead. Mikesell picked up her sixth kill of the match to make it 17-12 before Reigelsperger picked up her sixth kill of the match to close the set and even things up at a set apiece.
In the third set, Owens won the first point, but it was their only lead of the set. McHenry County led 14-9, and Owens fought back to tie the match at 16 thanks to Tyanna Smith's sixth kill of the match, but McHenry closed the set on a 9-5 run to take their second lead of the match.
A common theme of the day - service errors - gave Owens the first point of the fourth set. Gyori followed with an ace and Reigelsperger added her 12th kill to give Owens a 3-0 lead and early momentum.
Later, a kill and an ace from Deanna Smith put Owens up 11-4. The lead jumped to 19-10 following a kill from Pleiman, and Owens later won the set via a Purcell kill.
In the fifth set, Mikesell got the first point via a kill. Another Reigelsperger kill made it 6-4. After the teams switched sides, a kill from Hartings made it 9-4. Reigelsperger made it 14-9 with a kill, and Purcell picked up her second straight set winner with a kill to close the match.
Reigelsperger led the team with 16 kills, Purcell added 10 and Mikesell had nine. Smith, who assumed the primary setter role in the absence of Tylutki, finished with all 46 of the team's assists to set a new career-high, while five different players picked up one ace apiece.
Gyori led the team in digs with 24, while Miranda Johnson (Whiteford/Ottawa Lake, Mich.) and Deanna Smith each added 10. Reer added eight, too.
Hartings led the team in blocks with four (two solo).
Owens, which had previously defeated McHenry County in three sets on Sept. 26, is now 39-7 overall this year. McHenry County's season ends at 39-9.
Notes
Reigelsperger became only the third player in program history with 600 kills in a season after during today's second match. She now has 603 this year and has an outside chance at breaking the single season record of 618 held by Dakia Sellers (2012) with one match left. Alyssa Meis (2012) is second with 613. Furthermore, Reigelsperger has 1,103 career kills, which is 26 away from tying Stephanie Champine's (2006-07) record of 1,129.
Hartings, who had 17 kills in the two matches today, now has 986 in her career and needs 14 tomorrow to join Reigelsperger in the 1,000 kills club.
Gyori eclipsed 900 digs this year in today's second match. She has 914. Mikesell is nearing 600 and has 585 through today.