OTTAWA, Kan. – The Ottawa University women's volleyball team earned its seventh Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory of the season with a 3-0 sweep of York University on Saturday afternoon inside Wilson Field House. The Braves defeated the Panthers 25-20, 25-14, 25-22 to improve to 10-9 overall and 7-2 in KCAC play.
Ottawa finished with 45 kills and a .337 attacking percentage, committing just 12 attacking errors on 98 attempts. The Braves hit above .375 in each of the first two sets and held York to 36 kills in the match.
Bailee Nickel led Ottawa with 11 kills and a .346 attacking percentage.
Campbell Stark added 10 kills and two solo blocks, while
Rilyn Conard finished with nine kills and a .500 attacking percentage.
How It Happened
Set One: Ottawa 25, York 20
The Braves opened the match with back-to-back kills by
Ciara Gray to take an early 2-0 lead. York responded with a 6-1 run and eventually extended its advantage to 16-12.
Ottawa answered with six straight points behind the serving of
Makela Martinez to take an 18-16 lead. During the run,
Kira Cherry recorded a kill,
Tymerian Carrathus and Nickel combined for a block, and Carrathus added a kill to give the Braves their first lead since the opening points.
York pulled within one, 19-18, but Ottawa responded with kills from Gray and Stark to extend its lead to 22-19. Following a York point, Conard recorded a kill to give Ottawa set point, and Stark closed out the opening set with a kill for the 25-20 victory.
The Braves were efficient offensively, recording 17 kills and just one attacking error on 35 attempts for a .457 attacking percentage.
Set Two: Ottawa 25, York 14
Ottawa carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind kills from Stark and Gray, a service ace by
Madison Brauner, and a York attacking error.
The Braves extended their advantage to 8-3 before putting together another four-point run that included a Martinez service ace, a Cherry kill, and two blocks involving Carrathus and Nickel.
Ottawa continued to control the set, extending its lead to 17-6 following a solo block by Stark. The Braves pushed their advantage to 20-8 behind kills from Stark and Conard.
Nickel helped Ottawa close in on the set victory with three kills down the stretch, giving the Braves a 24-10 lead. York scored four consecutive points before a service error ended the set, 25-14.
Ottawa recorded 16 kills and hit .379 in the second set while holding York to a .167 attacking percentage.
Set Three: Ottawa 25, York 22
York opened the third set with three consecutive points and built a 5-2 advantage before Ottawa rallied. Back-to-back kills by Nickel, followed by a block from Carrathus and Nickel, helped the Braves tie the score at 5-5.
The teams continued to trade points before a Martinez service ace gave Ottawa a 9-7 lead. York responded with five consecutive points to take a 12-9 advantage, forcing an Ottawa timeout.
The Braves battled back, using a kill by Conard, a solo block by Stark, and a kill by Gray to take a 15-14 lead.
With the set tied at 16-16, Ottawa scored two consecutive points on a York attacking error and a Gray service ace to take an 18-16 advantage.
The Panthers stayed within striking distance and cut Ottawa's lead to 22-21. Gray answered with a kill to give the Braves a 23-21 advantage. After another York point, a Panther service error brought up match point.
Stark delivered the final kill of the afternoon off an assist from Brauner, securing the 25-22 victory and completing the three-set sweep.
Inside the Numbers
- Bailee Nickel led the Braves with 11 kills, a .346 attacking percentage, four block assists, and four digs.
- Campbell Stark finished with 10 kills, a team-high .533 attacking percentage, and two solo blocks.
- Rilyn Conard recorded nine kills on 16 attempts with just one error, hitting .500. She also added one block assist.
- Kira Cherry tallied eight kills and five digs.
- Ciara Gray contributed six kills and one service ace.
- Makela Martinez led Ottawa with 18 assists and two service aces while adding four digs.
- Madison Brauner finished with 17 assists, five digs, and one service ace.
- Carson Schuman led the Braves defensively with 10 digs and added one service ace.
- Tymerian Carrathus recorded five block assists and one kill.
- Ottawa finished with 45 kills, 40 assists, five service aces, 33 digs, and seven total team blocks.
- The Braves hit .337 for the match compared to York's .226.
- York was led by Emma Kerley, who finished with 12 kills and a .320 attacking percentage.
Who is Next
Ottawa (10-9, 7-2) returns to the court on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in Wilson Field House against Friends University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
