SAA 2023 Volleyball Report – Week 3

9/18/2023 5:15:31 PM

Atlanta, Ga. – The Southern Athletic Association conference schedule got started with Hendrix posting a win over Rhodes last week, lifting the lid on a busy upcoming SAA volleyball slate. Berry and Millsaps are both riding four-match winning streaks heading into conference play. The 14th-ranked Vikings posted three-straight shutouts at the Centre Invitational last week while Millsaps went 3-0 at its home event. Sewanee picked up a victory over Kenyon on Sunday to become the SAA’s first 10-win team.
 
The Tigers rank fourth nationally in both team assists and team digs while sitting sixth nationally with in kills. Adele Cassidy of Sewanee is 12th in the country with 299 digs. Ana Capezzera of Millsaps tops the SAA with 3.63 kills per set while Sewanee’s Olivia Jones is hitting a conference-best .317 on the year.    
 
Around the League:
SAA Volleyball Standings
SAA Volleyball Stats
 
Athletes of the Week:
OFFENSIVE: Bella Boston | Berry | Junior | Newman, Ga. | Boston helped the Vikings go 3-0 against national competition on the road last week, hitting an impressive .327 on the weekend. Against nationally-ranked Wittenberg, Boston hit .400 (2.7 k/s) and followed up that performance against nationally-ranked Otterbein where she blasted 12 kills, earned 13.5 pts., 4.0 k/s and hit .360. The junior wrapped the weekend with team-high kills against Denison, recording 10 pts.
 
DEFENSIVE: Adele Cassidy | Sewanee | Senior | Tampa, Fla. | Cassidy average 4.71 digs/set in the 17 sets, leading Hendrix to a 2-2 final nonconference weekend.  The senior fell one dig shy of her career high in a five set match over Hanover, racking up 32.  Cassidy also tallied six services aces in the four matches.
 
Notable Performances:
  • Syd Bietz (Centre) - Across four games this week, Bietz led the way for Centre with 50 kills. She racked up 24 kills on a .321 hitting percentage as the Colonels overcame an 0-2 deficit to knock off Wittenberg in a 3-2 thriller. Bietz followed that up with a team high ten kills in a 3-0 sweep of Denison later that night. The 24 kills against Wittenberg represent the highest total by a Centre player since 2007.
  • Laurel Burkhardt (Sewanee) – Recorded double-digit kills in three of four weekend matches, totaling 55.5 points scored. Hit .252, highlighted by hitting .346 with 11 kills against Alma to follow up a 16-kill performance against Hanover earlier in the day.
  • Kylie Wilhelmi (Birmingham-Southern) – Appeared in five matches for the Panthers, totaling 48 kills, five assists and 18 digs.
  • Anna Capezzera (Millsaps) – Led Millsaps to a 3-0 weekend, hitting .248 with 39 kills. Posted an average of 3.9 kills per set.
  • Camryn Kennedy (Hendrix) – Led Hendrix to a 2-1 weekend. Led the Warriors in kills for the SAA opener against Rhodes, earning 3.75 kills per set and hitting .462. She also hit very well against Mary Hardin-Baylor to close the week, hitting .250 on 24 swings. 
  • Grace Waddell (Birmingham-Southern) – Totaled 74 digs over five matches for the Panthers last week while also getting four service aces.
  • Kate Whittle (Berry) – Surpassed 1,000 career digs and helped the Vikings to a 3-0 record on the road against nationally-ranked opponents. The junior tallied 39 digs over the weekend, averaging 4.33 digs per set.
  • Margaret Richardson (Millsaps) – Led the Majors to a 3-0 weekend, totaling 48 digs across the three matches. Averaged 4.8 digs per set and also had eight service aces.
  • Camryn Presley (Hendrix) – Recorded double-digit digs in all three Hendrix matches, leading to the Warriors to a 2-1 weekend. Tallied 19 digs in the SAA opener against Rhodes.
 
Looking Forward:
SAA Volleyball Schedule