CANTON, Ga. - Winners of its last eight, Centre opened up a two game lead in the Southern Athletic Association standings with three matches left on the conference slate. The Colonels moved to 9-0 in league play and 17-4 overall with victories over Hendrix and Rhodes. Berry dropped a road match at Millsaps and sits in second at 5-2 while the Majors, riding a three-game winning streak, are third at 5-3. Centre travels to Millsaps on October 26 in a huge SAA match-up while Berry has a three match week, visiting Oglethorpe before hosting Rhodes and Hendrix.
Around the SAA:
Athletes of the Week:
OFFENSIVE:
Ally Baer | Millsaps | Junior | Pace, Fla. – was huge for Millsaps in a pair of SAA sweeps that kept the Majors in the hunt for the conference title. She hit .347 in wins over Oglethorpe and Berry, totaling 20 kills and two service aces. Against the Stormy Petrels, she had 12 kills to go along with nine digs. The next day against Berry, Baer had eight kills without an error and another two digs.
DEFENSIVE:
Sophia Caruso | Sewanee | Sophomore | Naples, Fla. – recorded a career-high 32 digs on Friday night in the Tigers' five-set win over Hendrix, averaging 6.4 digs per set. She followed that up with nine digs on Saturday, while also contributing four assists and a service ace over the weekend. The sophomore libero has totaled 266 digs this season, averaging 4.59 per set, which leads the SAA in digs per set.
Notable Performances:
- Blakely Barnes (Berry) - had a stellar defensive weekend. Against Emory she recorded 4 blocks (1.33 b/s) and against Millsaps she added two more.
- Emily Gardiner (Centre) - set a new career high with five blocks along with eight digs to help Centre knock off the Warriors in straight sets. The next day against Rhodes, Gardner added two more blocks and 11 digs as Centre picked up another 3-0 victory.
- Olivia Wiseman (Rhodes) – had a strong defensive weekend on the road at Sewanee and Centre. Totaled 30 digs in the two matches and also added a pair of aces against Sewanee.
- Lindsey MacDiarmid (Berry) - paced the Vikings offense over the weekend. Lindsey recorded 55 assists, 1.0 kills/set, 5 blocks and an ace.
- Hollye Tate (Centre) - had another good weekend for Centre volleyball to help the Colonels stay undefeated. Across two 3-0 wins against Hendrix and Rhodes, Tate had a combined 15 kills. She led the Colonels in hitting percentage in both games, hitting .389 against Hendrix and .400 against Rhodes.
- Rachel Clarke (Rhodes) - was an offensive power for the Lynx against Sewanee and Centre. The sophomore hit .375 with 13 kills against Centre and .667 against Sewanee with six kills.
2024 Volleyball Report Archive (AOW Offensive/Defensive)
Sept. 3 – Mack Turner (Centre)/Madi Barron (Centre)
Sept. 9 – Anna Capezzera (Millsaps)/Olivia Wiseman (Rhodes)
Sept. 16 – Bella Boston (Berry)/Mary Addisyn Stubbs (Hendrix)
Sept. 23 – Yzzi Dsamou (Rhodes)/June Padilla (Centre)
Sept. 30 – Lura Underwood (Berry)/June Padilla (Centre)
Oct. 7 – Yzzi Dsamou (Rhodes)/June Padilla (Centre)
Oct. 14 – Kym Young (Rhodes)/June Padilla (Centre)