The William Jewell volleyball team got off to a great start at the eighth annual Mizuno Midwest Regional Crossover this weekend with a win over Ursuline College (Ohio) in five sets by scores of 25-8, 20-25, 20-25, 28-26, 15-6.
The Cardinals dominated the first set more than any other all season winning by a score of 25-8. The serving of William Jewell pushed a small lead to a double digit gap quickly and they never looked back. The Cardinals also totaled 10 kills with just one error while holding the Arrows in the negative.
Sets two and three belonged to Ursuline before Jewell battled back to take set four 28-26. The Cardinals built a four point lead late in the set only to see the Arrows pull back to a 23-23 tie. The teams traded kills until Jewell finally grabbed a 27-26 lead that they did not relinquish.
The final set was all Jewell as they hit .316 on eight kills with just two errors, and winning 15-6.
Freshman
Paige Cunningham shined for the Cardinals in all six rotations posting 12 kills, 11 digs, four aces, and five blocks on the day. Another freshman,
Raechel Meisinger led all players with 17 kills on 48 attempts while also grabbing eight digs and five service aces.
Grace Miller added nine kills and five blocks.
Defensively
Olivia Tolberd grabbed a game-high 23 digs while
Stefanie Richterkessing also totaled 11 along with 38 assists.
Overall Jewell outhit the Arrows by posting a .204 attack percentage and holding UC to a .162 mark. The Cardinals also earned 16 service aces, one shy of their season high.
Jewell continues play in the Regional Crossover tomorrow as they take on Northwood University (Mich.) at 10:00 a.m. followed by a showdown with Malone University (Ohio) at 4:00 p.m. Both Northwood and Malone are from the Great Lakes Intercolliegate Athletic Conference.
