Reigelsperger, Hartings Help Owens Volleyball Win Twice, Improve To 3-1

Erika Hartings (left) and Macy Reigelsperger (right) had nice days today as the Owens volleyball team improved to 3-1. Photos by Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Erika Hartings (left) and Macy Reigelsperger (right) had nice days today as the Owens volleyball team improved to 3-1. Photos by Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Wisconsin Dells, Wisc.---The Owens Community College women's volleyball team swept Southwestern Community College and beat Carl Sandburg College in four sets to close out their action in this weekend's Battle for the Dells Invitational.

For the Express, it was all about not creating unforced errors. The team produced five sets of three or fewer attack errors, while the only set they lost today was one where they had 11 attack errors. Furthermore, the team averaged only 15.5 attack errors per match today compared to an average of 22.5 yesterday.

Match 1: Owens d. Southwestern 25-21, 25-14, 25-15

For the third straight match to start her collegiate career, Macy Reigelsperger (Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) produced double figure kills as she had a team-high 10. Four other players recorded at least four kills as the team totaled 37. As a team, the Express produced a .264 attack percentage.

Deanna Smith (Riverview/Riverview, Mich.) had a team-high 15 assists, while Jessica Cooper (Brandywine/Niles, Mich.) added 10. Those two combined for 25 of the team's 28 assists. Ciarra Wirick (Benjamin Logan/West Liberty, Ohio) had a team-high 16 digs, while Aricka LaVoy(Eastwood/Pemberville, Ohio) and Reigelsperger each added five. 

LaVoy led the team with five aces, while Reigelsperger had three.Stephanie Kipp (Ida/Monroe, Mich.) and Erika Hartings(Coldwater/Coldwater, Ohio) each had a team-high three blocks.

Match 2: Owens d. Carl Sandburg 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-10

Reigelsperger (14) and Hartings (11), the duo from Coldwater, led the team in kills, while Ally Mikesell (St. Henry/St. Henry, Ohio) added seven and Amara Hemenway (Bellevue/Bellevue, Ohio) had six. The youth of the team showed up offensively in this match as the team's six freshmen had 42 of the team's 45 kills.

Smith added a team-high 27 assists, while Cooper had 15. They had all but one of the team's assists.

LaVoy (11), Reigelsperger (9) and Wirick (7) led the way in digs, while three others had three apiece. Sara Turner-Smith (Cardinal Stritch/Toledo, Ohio) had a team-high four aces, while three others had two apiece. The team had 12 total aces.

Blocks per down from the first match as Mikesell and Reigelsperger each had two blocks.

In the three games the Express won against Carl Sandburg, they averaged just 2.3 attack errors per game. In the game they lost, they had 11.

Notes

After last year's 0-4 and 1-6 start to the season, the Express have rebounded this year to start 3-1.

Reigelsperger has produced double-figure kill totals in each of her first four collegiate matches, while Smith is averaging nearly 24 assists per set over her first four matches. Cooper is second on the team in assists with 71 - compared to 95 for Smith. Wirick is leading the team with 59 digs this year, while LaVoy and Reigelsperger each have 47. LaVoy and Cooper each have a team-high eight aces. In addition to Reigelsperger's 51 kills, Hartings (32) and Hemenway (27) are second and third on the team.

Next up

The Express (3-1) will host the Owens Invitational next weekend (Aug. 29-31) in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC). On Friday, the team will take on Monroe College (N.Y.) at 12 p.m. and No. 14 South Suburban College at 5:15 p.m. On Saturday, they will play No. 18 Catawba Valley Community College at 1:30 p.m. and NJCAA Division I No. 18 Wallace State Community College - Hanceville at 6:45 p.m. Then, on Sunday, the team will play McHenry County College at 10 a.m. and No. 13 Muskegon Community College at 1:30 p.m.

All of those games will be live streamed as of now. We'll let you know more specific information next week.