By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Toledo, OH -- The No. 1 ranked Owens Volleyball team hit the hardwood again on Wednesday, this time against Edison and Terra. The Express were able to come away with two more terrific wins as they wind down the regular season.
Match #1: Owens 3 Edison 0
Owens began the night taking on the Edison Chargers, who Owens beat earlier in the season 3-0 on the road back on September 25. The Express were played tightly by Edison in the first set with Owens winning 25-19 and 25-20. Owens would close out the third set and the match in a dominating fashion, winning 25-9.
Tyriana Settles would lead the way on the attack for Owens, tallying a team high 15 kills on 29 attempts. Settles would also have the team high in digs with 17 on defense. Kayla Bekier was strong at the net, grabbing 10 kills of her own. Rebecca Brown would have all of the team's 46 assists in the match, while Olivia Materni would finish with 12 digs defensively. Semira Neely would have a productive match at the net as well. She would finish with six kills and three total blocks against the Chargers.
Match #2: Owens 3 Terra 0
In the second match of the evening, Owens would take on Terra for the first time in volleyball. The Express would be challenged again, but they would beat the Titans in straight sets. Owens would win 25-18, 25-21, and 25-17 to close out the match.
Owens was led on the attack again by Tyriana Settles. She finished with a team high 16 kills against the Titans. She also was the team leader in digs with nine. Kayla Bekier also was in double digit kills for the match, finishing with 12. Rebecca Brown notched all 40 of the team's assists against Terra. Semira Neely also had four kills and three total blocks for the match.
The Express are now 32-4 on the season and 14-0 in the OCCAC. Their win over Edison clinches the Express at least a share of the conference crown for the fifth straight season. The Express have a chance to clinch the outright conference championship Friday against Clark State in the 2019 regular season home finale.
Notes:
- Sonny Lewis is now three wins away from career win No. 700. With the two wins tonight, Coach Lewis now sits at 697. Should the Express win Friday and next Wednesday, he could avchieve the mark as early at next weekend's Region XII tournament. His overall record is no 697-201.
- Two former Owens Volleyball players were on hand at tonight's matches, albeit on the opposing sideline. Julia (Haupricht) Brandewie, Edison's head coach, and Stephanie Champine, Terra's head coach, were both players for Owens's head coach Sonny Lewis. Champine is one of the most decorated players in Owens Volleyball history. She was a part of the inaugural group inducted into the Owens Express Athletics Hall of Fame. Brandewie was a part of the 2010 and 2011 teams. She is tenth all time at Owens in kills