SMC Volleyball Goes 2-2 at Raider Challenge
The SMC Volleyball Team split their four-game weekend slate in Grand Rapids.
At the Raider Challenge, annually hosted by GRCC, the Roadrunners went 1-1 on both days. On Saturday, the team lost Game 1 in five sets to McHenry 25-15, 25-12, 15-25, 20-25, 11-15, then and turned around and beat North Central Michigan 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20. "Today was a great day for our team," said Head Coach Jenny Nate. "Despite the first loss against McHenry in five sets, we dominated the first two sets which gave us a glimpse at what we can do against the top teams. We have to maintain that through the five sets. We stayed strong but lost the last set 11-15. We moved on and beat a tough North Central team in four sets. I was really pleased with various improvements we made this week - especially our balanced attacking. Seven of our attackers all had positive hitting percentages, and we did a great job scoring from every attack position. Our setters did an awesome job running the offense and really getting all of our hitters involved. We had some great blocks throughout the day that really affected the opposing attackers. We have to keep capitalizing on our strengths and continuing to make steady improvements daily. This is a great tournament against tough teams which will help us prepare for round two of our conference matches."
Leading serving scorers - Day 1: Shayla Shears 29 points, 6 aces; Nikki Nate 20 points, 4 aces; Bianca Hobson 18 points, 3 aces; Josie West 17 points; Emma Beckman 11 points; Anna Johnson 5 points
Kills: Nikki Nate 21, Josie West 18, Bianca Hobson 14, Juliette Schroeder 13, Shayla Shears 11, Emma Beckman 11, Anna Johnson 4
Blocks: Juliette Schroeder 4, Bianca Hobson 4, Nikki Nate 3, Emma Beckman 2, Josie West 1, Abi Marquis 1
Digs: Josie West 25, Nikki Nate 19, Elizabeth Stockdale 19, Anna Johnson 15, Amanda Jones 13, Emma Beckman 10, Shayla Shears 7, Bianca Hobson 4, Juliette Schroeder 3
Assists: Emma Beckman 43, Anna Johnson 38
The team also went 1-1 on Sunday, losing their first match to a tough Carl Sandburg team 15-25, 14-25, and 22-25, then sweeping Lake County 25-13, 25-15, and 25-21. "Facing off against Carl Sandburg definitely challenged us defensively," Nate said. "They run a very fast offense that required us to speed up our block and our defensive reading. It was a loss, but it will make us a better defensive team. We played Lake County next, and we beat them earlier in the season 3-1, so I was very happy that we swept them this time 25-13, 25-15, and 25-21. We did a great job of staying composed and positive no matter what the score was, and that helped us control runs during our wins, and make some great runs despite trailing at times. This was a great weekend that will help us prepare for the second round of conference matches that begin this week."
Leading serving scorers - Day 2: Shayla Shears 16 points, 3 aces; Josie West 9 points, 2 aces; Anna Johnson 9 points, 1 ace; Emma Beckman 8 points ; Nikki Nate 7 points, 3 aces; Bianca Hobson 5 points, 1 ace
Kills: Nikki Nate 14; Josie West 14; Bianca Hobson 12; Shayla Shears 10; Juliette Schroeder 5; Emma Beckman 5; Anna Johnson 2; Abi Marquis 1
Blocks: Nikki Nate 5; Bianca Hobson 5; Shayla Shears 3; Josie West 3; Emma Beckman 3; Juliette Schroeder 1; Abi Marquis 1
Digs: Nikki Nate 26; Elizabeth Stockdale 14; Josie West 10; Anna Johnson 7; Shayla Shears 7; Emma Beckman 6; Bianca Hobson 6; Sophia Deeds 5; Amanda Jones 4; Juliette Schroeder 3
Assists: Emma Beckman 27; Anna Johnson 27
The Roadrunners are now 14-8 (3-3 in the MCCAA Western Conference) and have a bye Tuesday. Glen Oaks visits the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse on Thursday, October 5, to start the next round of conference play.