Ottawa defeated Southwestern College in the KCAC Play-in Match on Tuesday night in Wilson Field House. The Braves finished the match with 44 kills, a .233 attacking percentage, 41 assists, three service aces, 69 digs, and seven team blocks.
The Braves are 44-17 in the KCAC Tournament and have won 10 KCAC Tournament Championships. Ottawa and McPherson have played six times in the KCAC Tournament. OU is 4-2 against the Bulldogs in those matches. The Braves have won the last four straight matches against MC in the KCAC Tournament. Nov. 8, 2005 L, 3-0 |Nov. 7, 2006 L, 3-1 | Nov. 12, 2016 W, 3-0 | Nov. 10, 2017 W, 3-1 |Nov. 10, 2018 W, 3-1 | Nov. 13, 2021 W, 3-2.
Radaisy Valdez,
Lillian Holden, and
Chaney Barth were named to the 2023 All-KCAC Teams. Valdez earned First Team All-KCAC honors for the second straight year, Holden was named Second Team, and Barth was selected Third Team.
Through 32 matches this season, Ottawa is averaging 12.7 kills per set, 11.6 assists per set, 2.2 blocks per set, 1.05 service aces per set, and 16.6 digs per set. The Braves have a .208 attacking percentage.
Ottawa is ranked 13th in the NAIA in kills (1,542), 43rd in kills per set (12.7), 10th in total attacks (4,559), 43rd in attacking percentage (.208), 16th in assists (1,413), 22nd in receptions (2,300), 24th in digs (2,015), 10th in block assists (428), eighth in total blocks (274), 18th in blocks per set (2.2), 35th in ball handling errors (38), 13th in points (1943.0), and 47th in points per set (16.1).
Radaisy Valdez leads the Braves in kills with 483. She is averaging 4.1 kills per set.
Ryleigh Sander leads OU in assists with 730, averaging 6.03 per set.
Jadore Hayes is OU's leader in digs (579), averaging 4.7 per set. Valdez also leads the team in blocks with 128 and is averaging 1.09 per set.
Friday is the 88th meeting between Ottawa University and McPherson College. The Bulldogs won the regular season match between the two teams in five sets; 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 9-15 on Oct. 21 in McPherson. Before that loss, the Braves had won three straight against the Bulldogs. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Oct. 5, 1982 in McPherson. The Bulldogs won the match 2-0; 15-12, 15-9.
McPherson College is 19-7 overall and finished tied for fourth with a record of 9-4 in the KCAC with the Braves. The Bulldogs are on a five match winning streak with their last loss coming on Oct. 14 at Evangel, 3-2.
Through 26 matches, the Bulldogs are averaging 13.5 kills per set, 12.4 assists per set, 1.5 blocks per set, 1.5 service aces per set, and 18.5 digs per set. MC has a .207 attacking percentage.
McPherson is ranked 16th in the NAIA in kills per set (13.5), 42nd in attacking percentage (.207), 18th in assists per set (12.4), 24th in digs per set (18.5), and 36th in points per set (16.7).
Petra Fernandez leads the Bulldogs in kills with 235. She is averaging 2.6 kills per set. Cynarah Rodriguez is MC's leader in assists with 649, averaging 9.5 assists per set. Moriah Delgado is the team's leader in digs with 496, averaging 5.3 per set. Hadley Waldren is the Bulldogs' leader in blocks with 62. She is averaging 0.6 blocks per set.
