The Braves defeated Friends University 3-0 to win its eighth straight match against the Falcons, its 11th straight in Wilson Field House versus Friends. Ottawa has not dropped a set to Friends in six straight matches.
Ottawa finished the match against Friends 46 kills, a .276 attacking percentage, 41 assists, six service aces, 43 digs, and six team blocks.
Samantha Stahl had five service aces in the win over the Falcons on Wednesday night.
Through 22 matches, Ottawa is averaging 12.6 kills per set, 11.8 assists per set, 2.1 blocks per set, 1.02 service aces per set, and 18.1 digs per set. OU has a .199 attacking percentage.
Radaisy Valdez leads OU in kills per set (3.08),
Madison Brauner is Ottawa's leader in assists per set (555),
Kenzie Kuxhaus is OU's leader in digs per set (6.2), and Valdez leads the team in blocks per set (1.01).
Ottawa is ranked 40th in the NAIA in kills (1,134), 35th in total attacks (3,426), 41st in assists (1,062), 49th in receptions (1,778), 28th in digs (1,621), 23rd in digs per set (18.01), 19th in solo blocks (65), 34th in block assists (288), 15th in total blocks (209), 17th in blocks per set (2.3), and 14th in blocking errors (50).
Saturday is the 89th meeting between Ottawa University and McPherson College. Ottawa leads the series 58-30 and defeated McPherson 3-1 in the KCAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Nov. 10, 2023 in Hutchinson. The Bulldogs had defeated OU in the regular season match up last year on Oct. 21, 2023 in McPherson 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 9-15. The first ever meeting between the two team happened on Oct. 5, 1982 in McPherson. The Bulldogs won the game, 2-0 (15-12, 15-9).
McPherson College is 22-5 overall, 8-1 in the KCAC, ranked no. 20 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, and has won 11 straight matches. The Bulldogs last loss came on Sept. 27 against Nelson University, formally Southwestern Assembles of God University, 3-1.
McPherson is ranked 22nd in the NAIA in kills (1,265), 16th in kills per set (13.4), fourth in attacking percentage (.268), 22nd in assists (1,159), 24th in assists per set (12.3), 41st in block assists (275), 43rd in total blocks (185), 24th in points (1595.0), and 26th in points per set (17.0).
Brooke McHale leads McPherson in kills per set (2.7), Raegan Murphy leads the team in assists per set (5.6), Celestina Retumban is MC's leader in digs per set (4.7), Erin Fierens leads the Bulldogs in blocks per set (0.93).
