By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Hickory, N.C.---Despite a rearrangement of its schedule due to Hurricane Matthew, the No. 2 Owens Community College women's volleyball team is still set to take on a tough, five match schedule in this weekend's Catawba Valley Invitational.
The slate kicks off today with three matches and ends with two more tomorrow afternoon. Owens enters the invitational at 23-3 overall and winners of seven straight and 19 of its past 20.
No. 11 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.) State College and Cape Fear (N.C.) Community College, who were scheduled to be the two opponents for Owens on Saturday, both had to drop out of the invitational due to Hurricane Matthew, which forced things to be rescheduled. Furthermore, Owens went from four to five matches with the addition of Northern Virginia to its invitational slate a couple days ago.
Individual match times are still subject to change. Stay tuned to our Twitter page (@owensexpress) for the latest and most up-to-date schedule or time changes, as well as live match updates.
We are also planning on streaming the matches live, either through our YouTube page or Periscope account. Stay tuned to our social media pages for links and live updates regarding streaming.
SCHEDULE
Oct. 7 - No. 4 Catawba Valley Community College @ 1 p.m.
Oct. 7 - Wallace State - Hanceville @ 4 p.m.
Oct. 7 - Northern Virginia Community College @ 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 8 - Monroe College @ 10:30 a.m.
Oct. 8 - Spartanburg Methodist College @ 12 p.m.
TEAM CAPSULES
Catawba Valley (23-1) enters their own invitational as winners of 10 straight. They recently moved up to No. 4 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll. The team's lone loss this year came to Indian River State College on Sept. 9. Seventeen of their 23 wins have come in straight sets.
Sophomore outside hitter Megan Fair (235 kills) leads four returners who have at least 146 kills for Catawba Valley. Following her are Mariah Wallace at 179, Savannah Dishman at 149 and McKala Bozman at 146. Among those four, Bozman hits .513, Dishman hits .475, Fair is at .347 and Wallace hits .265.
The team's primary setter is sophomore Ada Thompson, who has 619 assists this year. Another sophomore, Jenna Dunsmore, has 119. The team also serves well with 302 aces as a team, led by sophomore Gaosee Vang at 74.
Defensively, five players have at least 130 digs, led by sophomore Regan Redmond (297) and Wallace (214). Bozman leads the team with 89 blocks.
Owens and Catawba Valley have four common opponents so far this year - Macomb, Grand Rapids, McHenry County and Monroe College. Both teams have won 12 of 13 sets against that competition.
Wallace State - Hanceville (26-1), an NJCAA Division I school located in Hanceville, Ala., enters the invitational as winners of 17 straight. The team's lone loss came to Vincennes University on Sept. 8.
Two sophomores, Kelsea Bivins (288) and MaKenzie Bearden (203), lead five players with at least 115 kills for Wallace State - Hanceville. Bivins hits .469, while Bearden hits .453. The team hits .345 overall. Freshman Abby Borden is the team's primary setter with 619 assists, although two sophomores, Tara Miller (171) and Holly Posey (155), are also featured.
Borden (31) and Posey (30) also lead the team in service aces, while freshman Emily Wilson leads the team with 385 digs. Sophomore Cierra Davis is second at 197, and two others have at least 126. Sophomore Alicia Charles (94) and Bearden (93) lead the team in blocks.
Wallace State - Hanceville and Owens have Muskegon, Waubonsee, McHenry County, Macomb and Vincennes as common opponents. Wallace State - Hanceville's lone loss was to Vincennes in three sets, while Owens lost in five sets to Vincennes. Against the other four opponents, they have won 12 of 14 sets, while Owens has won 12 of 12 sets against those teams.
Northern Virginia (4-10), located in Springfield, Va., was a recent addition to the Owens schedule due to Hurricane Matthew. The two teams have never met in volleyball. NOVA is led by sophomore Jewels Bonnette at 101 kills and a .198 hitting percentage. Their primary setter, sophomore Jenny Tran, has 241 assists and 26 aces. Another sophomore, McKinlee Houghland, has a team-high 164 digs, while sophomore Sheila Sherrill has 19 blocks to lead the team.
The lone common opponent for Owens and NOVA is Monroe College, who defeated NOVA in three sets, while Owens won in four sets vs Monroe College.
Monroe College (12-7), an NJCAA Division I school from Bronx, N.Y., has won six of its past seven matches entering this weekend. Owens defeated Monroe College in four sets on Sept. 4 in the Owens Invitational, and this will be the first neutral site matchup this year between the two teams. During its recent seven game stretch, Monroe College's lone loss came to Catawba Valley in straight sets.
A young team, three of Monroe College's top four producers in kills are freshmen. Sophomore Cristen Coryatt has a team-high 171, while freshman Kathrin Pasel has 163. Coryatt hits .178, while Pasel hits .265. As a team, Monroe College hits .186. The team's primary setter, sophomore Carla Soufront, has 373 assists. Pasel leads the team in aces with 14, while sophomore Neysha Gonzalez has a team-high 237 digs. Freshman Racheal Johnson has a team-high 18 blocks, and the team has 68 blocks total.
Spartanburg Methodist (11-4), an NJCAA Division I school from Spartanburg, S.C., enters this weekend as winners of six of its past seven matches. Their lone loss during that stretch came to Catawba Valley in straight sets on Oct. 4.
Sophomores Courtney Williamson (97) and Julia Panas (95) lead the team in kills, while Williamson hits .149 and Panas hits .114. The team's primary setter is freshman Haley Holcombe, who has 268 assists. Sophomore Olivia Gandy has a team-high 12 aces. Sophomore Madi Lambert (128), freshman Brook Greene (127) and Williamson (123) lead the team in digs. Freshman Jaycie Johnson has a team-high 63 blocks.
Two of Spartanburg Methodist's four losses have come to Catawba Valley.