CANTON, Ga. - Centre took command of the Southern Athletic Conference standings, moving to 5-0 after a huge win over Berry. The Colonels won a five-set thriller on Sunday to give the Vikings their first SAA loss since October 8, 2022, also a 3-2 setbck to Centre, stopping a 20 conference match winning streak. Centre is now 13-4 on the year having won four in a row. Berry is second in the standings at 3-1 and Rhodes moved to 3-2 in conference play.
Around the SAA:
Athletes of the Week:
OFFENSIVE:
Yzzi Dsamou | Rhodes | Sophomore | Litchfield, Ariz - lead the conference in kills this weekend with 43 over nine sets, while hitting .303. She hit 25 of those kills in the four set win over Millsaps for a conference season match high. In the match with Hendrix, she had 15 kills while hitting .350.
DEFENSIVE:
June Padilla | Centre | Senior | Murfreesboro, Tenn. – delivered on defense yet again for Centre as the Colonels earned a pair of hard-fought victories. In marathon five-set matches at Oglethorpe and Berry this weekend, Padilla averaged 27 digs per match and 5.4 digs per set, finishing with 26 against Oglethorpe and 28 against Berry, keeping numerous plays alive to help Centre maintain a perfect record in conference play.
Notable Performances:
- Lindsey MacDiarmid (Berry) - had a great weekend offensively. She posted 60 assists while running both a 5-1 and 6-2 for the Vikings. In addition to her setting responsibilities, Lindsey added 12 kills, 6 service aces, 5 blocks and 21 digs.
- Syd Bietz (Centre) - was Centre's most effective offensive player this weekend as the Colonels went 2-0 in SAA play. Bietz finished with 15 kills in a five-set win at Oglethorpe on Saturday. The following day at Berry, she finished with 23 kills, which was a season high and the highest kill total by any Centre player in 2024 to help Centre take another five-set victory.
- Riley Brady (Hendrix) - was a force this past week in all three conference matches. She moved to play six rotations as a middle and made a large impact. In addition to her high attacking percentages, she had eight aces and earned three kills per set. Brady had a double-double and had 54 reception attempts with only two errors across 12 sets played this week.
- Ally Baer (Millsaps) - had a great weekend, helping lead the Majors offense in two competitive matches that helped us go 1-1 on the weekend. In the middle position she had 3.5 kills/set and contributed on the service line.
- Gracie Sims (Oglethorpe) - put up some of her best numbers of the season in two matches this week. She started the week with a season-high 18 kills in a five-set thriller against Centre, then came back the next day to post 14 kills alongside only one error in a win against Sewanee. Sims also had 25 digs on the week, including a season-high 16 in the match against Centre.
- Lura Underwood (Berry) - continues to pace the Vikings defense as a 6-ro OH. In a 3-0 victory over Sewanee, Underwood posted a match-high 15 digs (5.0 digs/set). Against Centre Lura posted a double-double, including 20 digs (4.0 digs/set) and added 2 blocks.
- Mary Addisyn Stubbs (Hendrix) – racked up 52 digs over three matches, averaging 4.3 a set. She had a monster game against Sewanee with 23 digs and three aces in a 3-0 Warriors sweep.
- Sandy Bourgeois (Millsaps) - leads the conference in digs per/set and is the key to the Majors No. 1 conference digs rating. She had 46 digs in two games this weekend, averaging 5.75 digs a set.
- Sophia Caruso (Sewanee) - totaled 47 digs this week as the Tigers continued conference play. Caruso anchored the defense with a game-high 23 digs against Oglethorpe, while also contributing three assists and a kill. On Friday, she recorded 15 digs and an assist against Berry, and on Monday, she added nine digs and three assists.
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)