NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Valley teams combined to post a 12-17 record in non-conference matches during the opening weekend of play as volleyball returned to the courts over the weekend. This weekend’s schedule features 28 matches, including two vs. AVCA Top 25 opponents (UNI at #3 Kentucky and #25 Marquette at Illinois State).
BU: Thompson Tops Digs Record
Bradley outside hitter Hannah Thompson wasted no time adding to her lengthy list of accomplishments, breaking the Bradley career digs record in BU’s season opener against Central Michigan. Thompson, who averaged team highs of 3.18 kills and 5.27 digs per set at the season-opening CEFCU Invitational, topped the Bradley career digs mark of 1,437 originally set by Rachelle Dejean in 2011 with a 21-dig effort in the first outing of the year. Turning in double-doubles in each of the first two matches of the year, Thompson now has 1476 career digs and is closing in on Bradley’s career top 10 in kills. Currently owning 1,042 career kills to rank 11th in Bradley history, Thompson needs just two kills to pass Blythe Zajakowski (1988-91) for 10th in school history.
DU: Heading South
Drake travels to Florida this week for three matches against UNC Wilmington, Jacksonville and New Orleans … it is the fourth tournament the Bulldogs have ever played in the Sunshine State and just the second since 1994 … it will be the Bulldogs’ second meeting with Jacksonville (1-0), sixth against UNCW (2-3) and first-ever contest against New Orleans.
UE: Three Sweeps
Evansville earned its first 3-0 start since the 2018 season with a weekend sweep at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. Averaging 5.56 kills per set, Alondra Vazquez was the MVP for the tournament while Melanie Feliciano and Taya Haffner garnered All-Tournament honors.
ILS: Career-High for Otene
Tamara Otene was selected to the JMU Invitational All-Tournament Team, following ISU’s season opening weekend in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The sophomore outside hitter from Auckland, New Zealand blasted a career-high 18 kills in Friday’s match versus VCU, also leading ISU in kills with 10 on Saturday afternoon versus High Point. Otene is hitting .200 on the year and 3.82 points per set.
INS: Quick Starts
Indiana State opened each match over the weekend at College of Charleston with a first set victory in dominant fashion. ISU averaged 14.67 kills in the opening sets of the tournament, hitting no lower than .333 in any opener. Only Kennesaw State managed to hit over .300 in a first set against the Trees with the defense also maintaining control early over Eastern Michigan (.176) and College of Charleston (.000). Set two plagued the Sycamores, however, with the Trees hitting below .100 in two of three matches.
LUC: Home Sweet Home
Loyola has won three of its last four home matches versus nonconference foes as it heads into its 2021 home opener versus Eastern Kentucky on September 4. That match is part of the Rambler Challenge, which also features SIU Edwardsville and Jesuit rival Xavier. Under Amanda Berkley, the Ramblers are 5-1 when hosting the Rambler Challenge.
MSU: Bears Keep Acing
After posting its best ace average since 1995 last season with 1.61 per set, Missouri State improved on that number through three matches this year, serving 17 in 10 sets for a 1.70 average. Sophomore Rylee Fay led the way with seven aces in 36 total attempts at the line.
UNI: Bluegrass Battle
UNI continues the 2021 season at the Bluegrass Battle with matches against USC, Kentucky, and Creighton. This is part of a rotating tournament series that dates back to when Kentucky hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Classic. UNI will face 2020 national champion Kentucky on Friday evening. UNI’s only previous contests against a reigning champion came in 2003 versus USC and 2002 versus Stanford. The Panthers have five victories across the six previous tournaments involving these teams. UNI’s best work came in the 2018 Trojan Invitational with a second-place finish following wins over No. 13 Creighton and No. 5 Kentucky.
SIU: Dominate Win
Southern Illinois cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Mississippi Valley State for its first win of the 2021 season Saturday at the Southern Miss Classic. The Salukis trailed just twice in the match and hit .375 as a team, which was its highest hitting percentage in a match since Aug. 31, 2018. Meanwhile, Nataly Garcia served up six of SIU’s nine aces in the match- which were the most aces by a Saluki since Jennifer Berwanger served up seven at Drake on Nov. 3, 2007.
VU: Ravotto Loves Openers
There’s just something about performing in the season opener for junior outside hitter Bella Ravotto. She set a career best with her match-high 18 kills in the win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday morning and added 12 digs as well. Ravotto has now led Valpo in kills in the season opener in each of her three seasons on campus. In addition, she has five career double-doubles — three of which have come in the three season-opening matches.
Climbing MVC Digs Chart
Valpo’s Rylee Cookerly and Drake’s Kylee Macke continue to climb The Valley’s all-time career digs list. Cookerly sits third on the MVC all-time list. The fifth year player is the NCAA active leader in career digs, while Macke sits third on the active NCAA list. She will enter the weekend with 2,578 career digs, 78 shy of 2nd place. Macke is up to 9th on The Valley all-time list.
Individual Career Digs (MVC History)
2,778 Courtney Pence, Illinois State, 2015-18
2,656 Ellie Blankenship, UNI, 2007-10
2,578 Rylee Cookerly, Valparaiso, 2017-pres
2,482 Emily Butters, Missouri State, 2015-18
2,423 Alana Wittenburg, Drake, 2007-10
2,323 Kendyl Sorge, UNI, 2015-18
2,215 Katie Klages, Evansville, 2010-13
2,202 Kelly Broussard, Wichita State, 2005-08
2,099 Kylee Macke, Drake, 2017-pres
2,095 Julie Walroth, Evansville, 2004-07
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Players of the Week are Evansville's Alondra Vazquez, UNI's Carly Spies and Evansville's Taya Haffner.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Alondra Vazquez, Sr., OH, Evansville
A spectacular weekend performance saw Alondra Vazquez average an MVC-best 5.56 kills per set on her way to being named the Most Valuable Player at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. She hit an impressive .380 in the three matches while racking up six service aces. On the defensive side, Vazquez recorded 2.78 digs per set while wrapping up the weekend with eight block assists as UE won all three matches by a 3-0 final. Vazquez opened the year with 14 kills, .423 hitting, nine digs and two block assists versus SIUE. Her top offensive performance came against Kent State where she had 25 kills and hit .489. She added seven digs and four service aces. The weekend finale versus Purdue Fort Wayne saw her tally 11 kills, nine digs and six block assists.
Other Notable Performances: Hannah Thompson (BU), Haley Bush (DU); Karinna Gall (INS) Taylor Venuto (LUC); Manuela Ibarguen (MSU); Carly Spies (UNI); Imani Hartfield (SIU); Peyton McCarthy (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Carly Spies, Jr., MB, UNI
Carly Spies dominated the block for the Panthers, leading the team to a 2-1 mark in the GBD Invite over the weekend. Spies finished with a team high 17 blocks while adding 25 kills and a .311 hitting percentage. Spies opened the weekend hitting .381 with 10 kills against North Dakota State. The 6’3 middle blocker then tallied 6 blocks in both matches against Ball State and Green Bay. Spies earned all-tournament team honors at the GBD Invite.
Other Notable Performances: Hannah Thompson (BU); Kylee Macke (DU): Alondra Vazquez (UE); Melina Tedrow (INS); Grace Hinchman (LUC); Teagan Polcovich (MSU); Katy Kluge (SIU); Haley Hart (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Taya Haffner, Fr., S, Evansville
In her first weekend of collegiate action which took place in her home town of Fort Wayne, Taya Haffner had the top weekend for a setter in the MVC to open the season, posting 12.33 helpers per set, a total of 111. She also added 27 digs (3.00/set) on her way to a spot on the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team. In her debut versus SIUE, Haffner finished with 33 assists and four digs. Friday’s finale against Kent State saw the freshman register 35 assists and nine digs. Those numbers continued to climb as the weekend moved along as she totaled 43 helpers and 14 digs in the 3-0 win against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Other Notable Performances: McKenna Scheib (BU); Ashlynn Kuhn (DU); Emma Kaelin (INS); Olivia Lovett (LUC); Morgan Sprague (MSU); Kira Fallert (UNI); Anna Jaworski (SIU)