Ottawa opened its season on Tuesday night with a 3-0; 25-18, 25-17, 25-17; road victory over no. 11 MidAmerica Nazarene University.
Radaisy Valdez led OU with 16 kills and a .583 attacking percentage. As a team, Ottawa had a .320 attacking percentage, 40 kills, 37 assists, eight service aces, 42 digs and five team blocks.
Tuesday night's win was the first over MNU in Olathe since Sept. 13, 1999.
OU's freshmen contributed to the win.
Chaney Barth had nine kills and three digs.
Carson Schuman finished with seven digs. Setters
Ryleigh Sander and
Madison Brauner had 17 assists apiece.
Kira Cherry tallied four kills.
The Braves start the 2023 season where it ended 2022, at no. 22 in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches Poll. The Braves are receiving 179 points in the poll.
Radaisy Valdez and
Jadore Hayes were named to the 2023 KCAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Team. Valdez played in 36 matches, earning NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2022. She was a First Team AVCA West Central Region selection and was named First Team All-KCAC. Valdez finished the season with 421 kills, a .321 attacking percentage, eight assists, one service ace, 42 digs, and 110 blocks. Hayes earned Second Team All-KCAC honors in 2022. She finished the year with 620 digs, 40 service aces, 126 assists, and 10 kills.
For the eighth straight year, Ottawa has been selected by the KCAC coaches to win the conference. The Braves received 164 points and nine first place votes.
Ottawa has a record of 5-10 against Central Methodist University. OU has lost two straight to the Eagles. The Braves last win over CMU was on Feb. 21, 2021 in Fayette, Mo. Ottawa defeated no. 11 Central Methodist 3-2. The Braves are 0-2 against William Penn University. The two teams have not met, however, since Oct. 12, 2007 when you had to go to 30 to win a match. This is the first meeting between Ottawa and Indiana Wesleyan. OU has a record of 3-6 against John Brown University. The Golden Eagles won the meeting last season in Columbia, 3-2. Prior to that JBU win, the Braves had won two straight.
Central Methodist opens its 2023 season against the Braves. The Eagles are ranked no. 19 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll. CMU returns NAIA All-American Callie Henson, Second Team All-HAAC selections Annabelle Maassen and Delaney Miller, and Third Team All-HAAC Joana Milho. The Eagles had a record of 21-9 and a HAAC mark of 13-6.
William Penn University is 0-1 to start the 2023 season. The Statesmen fell 3-1 to William Woods University. WPU finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 21-14 and a 13-6 in the HAAC. William Penn returns First Team All-HAAC selection Alyssa Young, Second Team All-HAAC selection Andressa Borges, and Third Team All-HAAC selection Alyvia Johnson. In the loss to William Woods, WPU had 45 kills, a .117 attacking percentage, 39 assists, eight service aces, 71 digs and 10 team blocks. Lauren Adams and Kassidy Phillips led the team with nine kills a piece.
Indiana Wesleyan opens the 2023 season at the Hampton Inn Volleyball Classic. The Wildcats finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 24-8 and a finished second in the Crossroads League with a mark of 14-4. IWU returns Second Team NAIA All-American, CRL Freshman of the Year, and First Team All-CRL selection, Eva Joldersma.
John Brown University as started its 2023 season with a record of 2-1. The Golden Eagles lost its season opener to Oklahoma Wesleyan 3-0 but rebounded to defeat Texas A&M Texarkan 3-0 and Bethel (Kan.) 3-0. Savanna Riney leads JBU in kills with 30. Emma DeSanti is the team's leader in assists (38). Julie Milligan is the Golden Eagles' leader in digs (38) and Erin Mullins leads JBU in blocks with 11.
