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SMC Earns 5-1 Record at OWT
Posted: Aug 26, 2024

SMC Earns 5-1 Record at OWT

For the third straight year, SMC Volleyball went 5-1 at the Opening Weekend Tournament, the largest two-year college tournament in the country. The OWT is held at the UW Sports Factory in Rockford, Illinois, and is the traditional start to the season with over 70 teams in attendance over the three days. 

The Roadrunners began on Friday with a sweep of Triton College, and got a little payback for last year's wrestling team barely losing to the Trojans at the Great Lake District Tournament.
The match started early and SMC got behind a bit before finding their groove and handling the Trojans 25-16, 25-16 and 25-11. In their second match, the Roadrunners welcomed UWW-Rock County to the NJCAA with another 25-8, 25-18, 25-12 sweep.
 
Head Coach Jenny Nate said of the first two matches, "We have had some tough, fast-paced scrimmages the past few weeks, and both teams we faced today were a little slower tempo, and that was actually a tough transition for us to slow the down the pace of our game and maintain our normal energy, but I was very pleased that we made those adjustments, played smart offensively with the ball, and picked up our energy and communication with every set of the day.  We focused on playing our game and controlling the pace of each match.  We are thrilled with two sweeps to open our season today but also know our matches tomorrow will be faster and tougher, and we need to refocus and play aggressively and go after one point at a time."
 
Leading scorers for Friday: Talan Hiemstra 29 points, 10 aces; Josie West 24 points, 2 aces; Ryli Burks 13 points, 3 aces; Anna Johnson 12 points, 1 ace; Cadence Knight 8 points, 3 aces; Reese Maas 5 points; Brianna Russell 4 points; Gia Jania 3 points, 1 ace; Carlie Ritchie 3 points.
 
 
 
 
Assists: Ryli Burks 28, Anna Johnson 24
 
Saturday began with a tough match vs. Division 1 John A. Logan College, and SMC took their first loss of the season 25-22, 19-25, 22-25,19-25. The Roadrunners, who are Division 2, were right there with the Vols the whole match but couldn't quite get it done on points. The Roadrunners then swept the Illinois Valley Eagles with identical set scores of 25-14, 25-14, 25-14 to move up to 3-1 on the young season.
 
Nate said of the effort on Saturday, ""We knew they were going to be big and fast after scouting them from the previous day, but these are the exact matches that we need right now to challenge us and get us ready for the conference matches.  We came out strong and took them down 25-22, and it was a battle point for point (just like the rest of the match).  I was proud that our attackers have been in the positive hitting percentages all weekend, but at times, we attacked a bit timid - smart - but timid, and we will work on that.  We did a nice job the next couple sets playing aggressively.  They also ran a very fast middle offense which challenged our block to speed up, so it took us some adjustment. Our energy was great, and although we lost the next three sets 19-25, 22-25, and 19-25, we definitely made improvements as a team and hung right there with the bigger DI team."
 
Leading scorers for Saturday: Talan Hiemstra 15 points, 3 aces; Ryli Burks 15 points; Anna Johnson 13 points, 3 aces; Josie West 10 points, 2 aces; Cadence Knight 9 points, 3 aces; Reese Maas 9 points, 1 ace; Gia Jania 7 points, 2 aces; Bri Russell 5 points; Carlie Ritchie 1 point
 
 
 
 
 
On Sunday, the Roadrunners played six sets and won them all, sweeping both the RCTC Yellowjackets 25-12, 25-20 and 25-16, and then the Oakton Owls 25-17, 25-19, 25-15. Nate said, "This is always a great tournament for us to start the season with every year; we get six matches to work together as a team, gel, and figure out our strengths and weaknesses before we head into conference play.  We are excited that we are off to a great start to the season and did a fantastic job playing clean, smart ball, and look forward to hitting the gym this week after film analysis and a rest day in order to prepare for a tough Owens Tournament facing ranked teams."  The Roadrunners are now 5-1 on the season. 
 
Leading scorers for Sunday: Talan Hiemstra 31 points, 10 aces; Gia Jania 18 points, 5 aces; Josie West 13 points, 1 ace; Ryli Burks 11 points, 3 aces; Cadence Knight 8 points, 4 aces; Anna Johnson 7 points, 2 aces; Reese Maas 2 points; Bri Russell 1 point
 
 
 
 
Assists: Anna Johnson 38, Ryli Burks 15