The Braves fell short in a five set match to no. 7 Missouri Baptist University in Wilson Field House on Thursday night. As a team, OU had 49 kills, a .161 attacking percentage, 43 assists, two service aces, 52 digs, and nine team blocks.
Radaisy Valdez finished the match with 19 kills, a .613 attacking percentage, and five blocks.
Madison Brauner had a double-double, finishing the match with 15 assists and 11 digs.
Ryleigh Sander led OU with 23 assists and
Kennedi Wyrick tallied 11 digs.
Through 10 matches this season, Ottawa is averaging 12.7 kills per set, 11.9 assists per set, 2.08 blocks per set, 1.29 service aces per set, and 15.34 digs per set. OU has a .221 attacking percentage.
Ottawa is ranked 33rd in the NAIA in kills (485), 31st in kills per set (12.7), 42nd in total attacks (1,366), 32nd in attacking percentage (.221), 31st in assists (453), 27th in assists per set (11.9), 46th in receptions (717), 25th in solo blocks (24), 39th in block assists (110), 25th in total blocks (79), 39th in blocks per set (2.08), 34th in ball handling errors (10), 38th in points (613), and 43rd in points per set (16.1).
Ryleigh Sander and
Radaisy Valdez were named KCAC Setter and Attacker of the Week for their efforts in OU's four matches last week. Valdez earned the honor for the second straight week. Sander, a freshman setter from Gardner, Kan., had 105 assists and 21 digs in four matches last weekend in Bellevue, Neb. She averaged 26.2 assists per set and seven assists per match. Valdez, a junior middle blocker from Bani, Dominican Republic, had 59 kills, a .495 attacking percentage, five digs and 16 blocks in four matches last weekend in Bellevue, Neb. She averaged 14.75 kills per match and 3.9 kills per set.
Seven freshman have seen considerable playing time for the no. 14 ranked Braves this season.
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Chaney Barth - 96 kills, 26 digs, 11 blocks
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Carson Schuman - 3 kills, 6 assists, 4 service aces, 87 digs
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Ryleigh Sander - 1 kill, 234 assists, 15 service aces, 65 digs, 1 KCAC Setter of the Week honor
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Blythe Manson - 41 kills, .248 attacking percentage, 8 digs, 14 blocks
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Kira Cherry - 58 kills, .137 attacking percentage, 2 assists, 20 digs, 28 blocks
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Emily Park - 1 service ace, 1 dig
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Madison Brauner - 167 assists, 69 digs
Radaisy Valdez leads OU in kills with 148. She is averaging 3.8 kills per set. She is also leading OU in blocks with 41. Valdez is averaging 1.07 blocks per set.
Ryleigh Sander is Ottawa's leader in assists (234) and is averaging 6.1 assists per set.
Jadore Hayes is averaging 4.2 digs per set and leads OU with 160 digs.
Saturday's match up between Ottawa University and Missouri Valley College will be the 15th match between the two teams. Ottawa leads the series, 12-2 and is on a two match winning streak. The Braves won the last meeting on Sept. 10, 2021 at the Baker Invitational. OU won the match 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16). The first ever meeting between the two teams happened on Oct. 30, 1976 in Wilson Field House. OU won the match 2-1 (8-15, 15-13, 15-9).
Ottawa is 6-17 all-time against Park University and has lost 14 straight matches against the Pirates. OU's last victory over Park happened on Sept. 14, 2002 at the Baker Invitational. OU won the match 3-1 (30-11, 25-30, 32-30, 30-21). The Braves are 2-6 against Park in Parkville and have lost its last six road matches against Park. OU's last road win over Park was on Sept. 18, 1990. The Braves won the match 15-8, 15-5.
Missouri Valley College is 5-4 in 2023. The Vikings opened the season with five straight victories but are now on a four match losing streak with losses last weekend at the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic to Loyola (3-1), Bellevue (3-0), McPherson (3-0), and Valley City State (3-0).
MVC is averaging 13.07 kills per set, 12.2 assists per set, 0.8 blocks per set, 1.8 service aces per set, and 15.6 digs per set. The Vikings have a .226 attacking percentage. Missouri Valley is ranked 16th in the NAIA in kills per set (13.07), 26th in attacking percentage (.226), 15th in assists per set (12.2), 38th in service errors (85), and 44th in ball handling errors (9).
Juliana Oliviera leads MVC in kills (86) and is averaging 2.97 kills per set. Lynsey Day is the team's leader in assists with 305. She is averaging 10.5 per set. Day is also the team's leader in digs, averaging three per set. Nekane Parera is MVC's leader in blocks, averaging 0.3 per set.
Park University is 4-2 to start the 2023 season and ranked no. 6 in the latest NAIA Poll. Through six matches, Park is averaging 11.3 kills per set, 10.3 assists per set, 1.95 blocks per set, 1.50 service aces per set, and 16.9 digs per set. The Pirates have a .154 attacking percentage.
The Pirates are ranked 44th in the NAIA in digs per set (16.9) and 52 in blocks per set (1.95).
Grecia Ung leads Park in kills per set (2.68) and has 59 through six matches. Arianna Marino is the Pirates leader in assists (9.23) per set. Ung also leads the Pirates in digs with 73 and is averaging 3.3 per set. Izabella Ceratti and Debora Bernardi lead Park in blocks with 14 apiece.
