SMC Roars Out to 5-1 Record at OWT
The SMC Volleyball Team picked up where they left off last year and won five out of six games at the 2023 Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, Illinois.
The OWT is the largest NJCAA volleyball event in the country and serves as a good early-season barometer for how teams are progressing in their development. SMC looks to be in good form as the Roadrunners lost only to #17 Rock Valley, the "host school", in their backyard.
On Friday, SMC defeated Lake County 25-18, 25-20, 19-25, and 25-19 and Joliet Junior College 25-20, 14-25, 25-21, and 25-17. "This was an awesome start to our season," said Head Coach Jenny Nate. "We are using a lot of depth in our lineup, and I love the energy, grit, determination, trust, and composure that I'm seeing. We are figuring out how to control runs, have balanced scoring, and finish each set - especially when we have a lead. Even though we went four sets today in both matches, it helped us really work as a team to overcome the one set we dropped, come back smarter, make adjustments, and win both matches. I've already seen incredible growth."
Leading scorers:
Josie West: 24 points, 1 ace; Nikki Nate: 19 points, 2 aces; Emma Beckman: 17 points, 2 aces; Anna Johnson: 10 points, 2 aces; Shayla Shears: 10 points, 4 aces
Kills:
Emma Beckman: 22, Nikki Nate: 21, Bianca Hobson: 17, Shayla Shears: 11, Josie West: 9, Juliette Schroeder: 4, Sophia Deeds: 3
Blocks:
Nikki Nate: 8, Shayla Shears: 6, Juliette Schroeder: 6, Bianca Hobson: 5 , Emma Beckman: 3, Josie West: 1
Digs:
Nikki Nate: 26, Elizabeth Stockdale: 25, Josie West: 22, Emma Beckman: 15, Anna Johnson: 12, Taylor Miller: 12
Assists:
Anna Johnson: 42, Emma Beckman: 26
On Saturday, SMC defeated Southwestern Illinois in 4 sets, 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, and 25-20. Next, the Roadrunners faced off against #17 nationally ranked Rock Valley, and although they lost 3-1, SMC took a set after being down by two. Scores were 18-25, 14-25, 25-13, 16-25.
Coach Nate said of Saturday, "Today was a great day for our team. We took down Southwestern Illinois and had to battle for the win. Then, we faced the #17 team in the country and learned so much in those 4 sets. First, we learned what we have to do to beat that caliber of a team - and we did it in the third set. We learned to bounce back after being two sets down, make adjustments, get our energy back up, and change our offensive strategy to win. Our blocks were a key factor in challenging their top hitters. We got a lot of blocks and touches, and we will be able to reflect at practice Monday and continue to take our game and our team to a higher level. I love that we took that set; that is a glimpse of how powerful we can be when we play to win - no matter the opponent. We are excited to hit the court again tomorrow for day three and will face off against Morton and Olive Harvey."
Leading serving scorers:
Bianca Hobson: 17 points, 3 aces; Emma Beckman: 16 points, 5 aces; Anna Johnson: 15 points, 2 aces; Shayla Shears: 12 points, 3 aces; Josie West: 11 points; Nikki Nate: 6 points, 1 ace
Kills:
Nikki Nate 36, Shayla Shears 16, Bianca Hobson 11, Josie West 8, Emma Beckman 7, Juliette Schroeder 4
Blocks:
Nikki Nate 8, Juliette Schroeder 7, Bianca Hobson 4, Josie West 3, Sophia Deeds 2, Emma Beckman 2
Digs:
Nikki Nate 38, Josie West 24, Elizabeth Stockdale 23, Taylor Miller 22, Emma Beckman 15, Anna Johnson 15, Shayla Shears 11
Assists: Anna Johnson 43, Emma Beckman 26
Then on Sunday, the Roadrunners swept Morton College and Olive Harvey to finish undefeated on the day.
Coach Nate said, "This was an awesome start to our season. Our entire team saw the court, and we built a lot of resilience throughout the weekend in order to finish and win the four set battles. I was so impressed with our team work, energy, hustle, offensive prowess, and defensive hustle plays. I'm thrilled that we were able to also take a set from the #17 team. That single loss taught us a lot about things we need to improve on in various areas and really helped prepare us for our conference matches and to face off with #9 ranked Muskegon Tuesday. We are excited to get back in our gym and get to work."
Leading serving scorers:
Nikki Nate 25 points, 5 aces; Anna Johnson 17 points, 1 ace; Emma Beckman 15 points, 2 aces ; Josie West 15 points, 1 ace; Shayla Shears 12 points, 4 aces ; Elizabeth Stockdale 6 points, 1 ace; Bianca Hobson 4 points; Emilee Demski 2 points, 1 ace
Kills:
Nikki Nate 24; Josie West 17; Shayla Shears 12; Emma Beckman 11; Bianca Hobson 9; Abi Marquis 5; Sophia Deeds 3; Juliette Schroeder 2; Anna Johnson 1
Blocks:
Nikki Nate 6; Bianca Hobson 6; Emma Beckman 5; Shayla Shears 4; Josie West 1; Abi Marquis 1
Digs:
Nikki Nate 30; Anna Johnson 24; Emma Beckman 19; Elizabeth Stockdale 19; Josie West 17; Taylor Miller 8; Abi Marquis 5; Shayla Shears 4; Amanda Jones 4; Bianca Hobson 2; Emilee Demski 1
Assists:
Anna Johnson 37; Emma Beckman 32