DMACC Bears Athletics Program
DMACC Bears News
Volleyball Team Goes 1-3 Against Ranked Opponents
September 13, 2010
The DMACC women’s volleyball team faced four nationally ranked teams Friday and Saturday at the Kirkwood Tournament in Cedar Rapids.
The Bears opened tournament play against third-ranked Illinois Central College and came away with a 3-0 victory (26-24, 25-22, 25-17). DMACC then went against No. 9 Cowley County Community College and lost 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15).
The loss ended a four-match winning streak for the Bears, who won 12 consecutive games during the streak.
On Saturday, DMACC lost to top-ranked Parkland College 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19) and then wrapped up tournament play with a 3-0 loss to eighth-ranked Kishwaukee College (25-23, 25-23, 25-18).
“We competed very well,” DMACC coach Patty Harrison said. “It could have gone either way a couple of times. We just need to burrow in and get those last two points when the game is tied 23-23.”
The Bears (5-6-0) were without freshman middle hitter Mary Jo Twiford for their last three matches. Harrison said Twiford tweaked a knee a week earlier and the decision was made to hold her out of the last three matches after the knee started bothering her.
“We started playing around with middles and moving some players around,” Harrison said. “We’re there, we’re competitive and we’ve got the players. It’s just going to take time to push. We played four of the top competitors and we like to play against those tough teams. The girls need to go up against those big blocks continuously to find a way to get around them. We’re on the right track.”
Sophomore Mikayla Overturf and freshman Maggie Vondrak led the Bears past Illinois Central with 13 and eight kills respectively. Twiford added three ace blocks, sophomore setter Natalie Weis had 29 assists and freshman Jamie Buchman finished with a team-high 11 digs.
Vondrak and Elizabeth Ihnen had 11 and six kills respectively, in the loss to Cowley County. Sophomore Tiffany Bormann contributed three ace blocks, Weis had 22 assists and 10 digs and Buchman finished with 17 digs.
In the Parkland College match, Vondrak and Overturf had 12 kills each as the Bears hit .212 for the match. Erin Smith contributed nine kills and three ace blocks and Ihnen had three ace blocks. Weis led DMACC with 39 assists, Sarah TJaden added two ace serves and Vondrak and Buchman finished with 18 and 17 digs respectively.
Ihnen and sophomore Sarah Davidson had seven kills apiece to pace DMACC against Kishwaukee College. Smith finished with five ace blocks, Weis had 25 assists and Buchman had a team-high 11 digs.
Harrison said she thinks her team is on par with the four teams the Bears faced in the tournament.
“It just takes that final moment where we’re still having a few growing pains with our freshmen,” Harrison said. “At that level of play, some of them still need to get more confidence. It’s not all bad to be the players who are working hard instead of getting into a complacent spot. I never feel that these kind of matches are not beneficial.”