FIRST SERVE
William Jewell volleyball continues tournament action at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invite this weekend in Owensboro, Ky. The Cardinals will take on Purdue Northwest and hosts on Friday along with Shorter University (Ga.) and Northern Michigan on Saturday.
FOLLOW THE CARDINALS
You can follow the Cardinals all season across the team's various social media platforms. Find the team on Instagram and Twitter with the handle @WJCVolleyball. On Facebook, look for William Jewell Volleyball.
SERIES HISTORY
The Cardinals are 3-1 against this weekend's opponents in the NCAA era, having never lost to Kentucky Wesleyan or Purdue Northwest. The only matchup with Northern Michigan came at the Midwest Region Crossover in 2016 in a five set loss. Jewell has not played Shorter in the NCAA era.
LET'S RECAP
After dropping their first two matches the Cardinals rallied to defeat Southwestern Oklahoma and Missouri Southern and get off to a 2-2 start this season. Jewell took care of SWOSU in three close sets before handing MSSU their first loss in a marathon five set match that was decided in extra points after the Cards rallied from down two sets.
LAPORTA SHINES
Bella LaPorta has a big swing from the outside and she showed it last weekend. The sophomore was nearly unstoppable putting up 81 kills for an average of over five per set. She was not only superb offensively but also picked up 2.56 digs and 0.56 service aces per set. The Cardinals had just 11, 20-plus kill performances in the NCAA era coming into the 2022 season before LaPorta put up three in the opening weekend.
SERVICE LINE ATTACK
The Cardinals were dominant from behind the service line, posting 30 aces, to just 12 errors. That total and 1.88 average puts Jewell fifth in the GLVC in serving after week one.
ERNT QUIENTLY EFFICIENT
Tatum Ernt started all four matches in the middle and was efficient from the first serve. The senior quietly posted 2.38 kills per set on a .364 attack percentage, eighth in the GLVC, and is already one-third of the way towards her season total in kills from 2021.
BAADE LEADING THE BACK ROW EFFORT
Senior libero Haidan Baade was superb from the back row defensively in the opening weekend, racking up 5.06 digs per set, second in the GLVC. While it will be tough to surpass her career high of 40 she put up as a sophomore, Baade had at least 15 digs in all four matches, with more than 20 twice.
50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VARSITY SPORTS
The 2022-2023 academic year marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the 50th year of women's varsity sports of the William Jewell campus. Volleyball was one of the original five sports, joining basketball, tennis, swimming and field hockey. Jewell will be celebrating the growth and accomplishments of women's athletics throughout the year, headlined by an all-women's Hall of Fame class, to be inducted on September 23 which includes the 1981 volleyball team which was the first women's team to win a conference championship in school history.
