Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Drake
WSU finishes Hampton Inn Invite with two wins
9/18/2016 5:16:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MACOMB, ILL – Weber State volleyball added two more to this season's win column today as they took down Drake and Western Illinois both in four sets. The Wildcats are now undefeated with a 9-0 record going into Big Sky Conference play.
Several Wildcats made the All-Tournament team including Hover and Roberts. Thompson was named the tournament MVP for her outstanding performance.
In the first match of the day, Weber State defeated Drake 3-1. The two teams had a well fought competition in the first set as there were 16 tied scores throughout the set. The Bulldogs pushed through at the end with two kills to claim the first set 26-24.
After a point for point battle early in the second set, WSU went on an 8-3 run giving them the 25-20 second set win. Weber State never trailed during the second set and only had two tied scores. The two teams were tied 1-1 going into the match break.
Weber State maintained the momentum in the third and fourth sets claiming each of them with victories giving the Wildcats the 3-1 overall match victory.
Against Drake, the Wildcats had an impressive 55 kills for a .207 hitting percentage. Weber State had 30 blocks and 17 team blocks to Drake's 10 blocks and five team blocks.
Sophomore Bailey Irwin had her first collegiate double double with a career high of 47 assists and a career high of 13 digs. Jesse Hover also recorded a new career high with 34 digs. There were three other Wildcats with double digit digs, Roberts had 14 while Cavalcanti and Tanisha Langston each had 10.
Thompson had the match high of 15 kills and a .609 percentage. Amanda Varley also had double digit kills with 13. Thompson also posted a new season high in blocking having 12 on the match with two solo blocks. Freshman Megan Gneiting also came up strong in blocks with seven.
Weber State ended the Hampton Inn Invitational with a 3-1 victory over tournament host Western Illinois.
There was no question the Wildcats were ready to fight as they started the match with a 10-3 lead. The set ended on a 5-0 run and was finalized with a block by Varley and Thompson. WSU then went on to claim the second set 25-19 giving them the 2-0 lead going into the match break.
Western Illinois gave the Wildcats a run for their money in the third set as the Leathernecks came out with a 10-3 lead. They maintained at least a seven point lead for the rest of the third set and WIU claimed the third set with a 25-15 score.
Weber State ended the match by claiming the fourth set 25-10.
The Wildcats had 32 blocks and 17 team blocks to the Leathernecks 20 blocks and 12 team blocks. WSU also had 53 kills and a .245 hitting percentage to WIU's 33 kills and .035 percentage.
There were three Wildcats who had double digit kills against the Leathernecks. Rylin Roberts had the match high with 13 kills and 36 attacks. Varley had 12 kills while Thompson added 11 and had the match high percentage with .391. WSU also had five athletes with double digit digs, Hover had the match high of 18 while Cavalcanti had 13. Roberts had her second double double on the year with 12 digs while Langston also had 12 digs. Irwin put up her second double double with 44 assists and 10 digs.
The Wildcats are 9-0 on the season and going into Big Sky Conference play undefeated. The nine consecutive wins this season is the longest winning streak the program has had since 1995 and the second longest winning streak in school history. Weber State volleyball has never started out a season with an undefeated record.
Weber State starts Big Sky Conference play Sept. 23 in the home opener at 7:00 p.m. in the Swenson Gym.
