LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – The Ottawa University women's volleyball team earned a four-set victory over the University of Saint Mary on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 4, at the Ryan Sports Center. The Braves defeated the Spires 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20. Brave setter,
Madison Brauner, earned her 2,000
th career assist in the win against the Spires. She becomes just the sixth OU women's volleyball player to record 2,000 career assists.
Ottawa was led offensively by
Campbell Stark, who finished with a match-high 18 kills and a .342 attacking percentage.
Kira Cherry added 12 kills, while
Rilyn Conard finished with nine. The Braves totaled 59 kills and 84 digs, finishing with a .186 attacking percentage.
How It Happened
Set One: Ottawa 25, Saint Mary 23
Saint Mary jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Ottawa responded with kills from Cherry and Stark to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Spires extended their advantage to 11-6, but the Braves continued to battle. A service ace from
Jezebel Hobbs and kills from Conard and Bailee Nickle helped Ottawa pull within one, 16-15.
Trailing 20-18, Ottawa scored three straight points behind a block from Stark, a Saint Mary attacking error, and a kill from
Ciara Gray to take its first lead of the set, 21-20. After Saint Mary regained the lead at 22-21, the Braves answered with three consecutive points. A kill from Stark gave Ottawa a 23-22 advantage. Ottawa reached set point at 24-22, and a block by Conard and Stark secured the 25-23 victory.
Set Two: Saint Mary 25, Ottawa 22
The Braves opened the second set with a kill from Stark and built an early 5-3 advantage. Saint Mary responded with five straight points to take an 8-5 lead. Ottawa battled back to within one, 10-9, following a kill from Cherry, but the Spires used a five-point run to extend their lead to 15-9.
Trailing 19-13, the Braves scored three straight points, highlighted by kills from Stark and
Tymerian Carrathus, cutting the deficit to 19-16. Saint Mary pushed its lead to 24-20 before Ottawa answered with consecutive kills from Gray to make the score 24-22. The Spires recorded the final point to take the set 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.
Set Three: Ottawa 25, Saint Mary 22
Saint Mary took an early 6-3 lead, but Ottawa battled back to tie the set at 6-6. Trailing 8-6, the Braves scored four consecutive points. Nickle started the rally with a kill and followed with a service ace that gave Ottawa a 9-8 advantage. The teams exchanged points throughout the middle of the set, with neither team able to build a significant lead.
With Saint Mary leading 18-17, Ottawa scored three straight points, including blocks involving
Zoey Huerta,
Una Grbic, and Stark, to take a 20-18 lead. The Spires pulled within one at 22-21, but Stark answered with a kill to extend Ottawa's advantage to 23-21. A Saint Mary attacking error gave the Braves set point, and Conard finished the set with a kill for the 25-22 victory.
Set Four: Ottawa 25, Saint Mary 20
Ottawa took control early in the fourth set, using kills from Cherry, Stark, and Grbic, along with a service ace from
Madison Brauner, to build a 5-3 advantage. Consecutive kills from Nickle extended the Braves' lead to 7-3, forcing a Saint Mary timeout. Ottawa continued its offensive momentum, pushing its lead to 10-5 on a block by Huerta and Grbic.
Leading 11-6, the Braves scored three straight points behind two kills from Stark and one from Grbic to extend their advantage to 14-6. Saint Mary attempted to rally, cutting Ottawa's lead to 18-14, but the Braves maintained control.
A kill from Grbic gave Ottawa a 20-15 advantage, and a kill from Cherry extended the lead to 21-17. The Braves reached match point at 24-19 following a kill from Conard. Nickle delivered the match-winning kill to secure the 25-20 set victory and the 3-1 match win.
Inside the Box Score
- Campbell Stark led Ottawa with 18 kills, a .342 attacking percentage, one solo block, and two block assists.
- Kira Cherry finished with 12 kills, six digs, and one block assist.
- Rilyn Conard recorded nine kills, a .259 attacking percentage, and one block assist.
- Bailee Nickle totaled eight kills, 15 digs, one service ace, and one block assist.
- Una Grbic contributed six kills, a .333 attacking percentage, one solo block, and three block assists.
- Carson Schuman led the Braves defensively with 20 digs, four assists, and one service ace.
- Madison Brauner recorded 23 assists, 18 digs, and one service ace.
- Makela Martinez led Ottawa with 25 assists and added 11 digs.
- Ciara Gray finished with four kills and five digs.
- Ottawa finished with 59 kills, 56 assists, 84 digs, four service aces, and eight total team blocks.
- The Braves held Saint Mary to a .149 attacking percentage while finishing with a .186 attacking percentage of their own.
- Ottawa recorded a match-high 19 kills in the fourth set, hitting .217 to close out the victory.
- The Braves held Saint Mary to a .000 attacking percentage in the third set, forcing 12 attacking errors.
- Saint Mary was led by Maddison Kruse with 13 kills, while Kaylee Kindall added 10 kills.
Who is Next
Ottawa (13-9, 10-2) returns to the court on Saturday, Nov. 7 in Wilson Field House against Bethel College. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. The two teams enter the match tied for second in the KCAC standings at 10-2.
