GAMBIER, Ohio – Friday marks the beginning of the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, hosted by Wittenberg University. Kenyon College will begin its tournament run against Hiram College at 7 p.m. with hopes to continue building on its improved play over the last month of the regular season.
The Ladies enter this year's tournament as the No. 7-seeded team in a field of eight that advance to postseason play. Kenyon (2-20, 2-6 NCAC) has seen its play and intensity heighten over the last three weeks where it collected both of its wins in crucial conference matches against Allegheny College and Ohio Wesleyan University. The team also went five sets with Oberlin College before ultimately falling in a heated battle to the end.
As has been the case all season long, outside hitter Sierra DeLeon will serve as the Ladies' primary weapon, offensively. The senior is currently second in the NCAC in kills per set, residing with an average of 3.17 per frame. DeLeon has already set career single-season highs in both kills (272) and total attacks (785) and is closing in on a personal and program milestone. With nine more kills, DeLeon will be the fifth Ladies volleyball player to eclipse 1,000 kills in a career. The last to do so was Patrice Collins '06, who currently is second all-time in Kenyon Volleyball history with 1,309. Currently, DeLeon is fifth all-time with 991 kills.
Much of Kenyon's offensive success comes off of the hands of junior setter Hannah Shank. Heading into the first round matchup Hiram, Shank is seventh in the conference in assists per set (7.62) and has 668 total on the season. To date, she is fourth all-time in program history with 2,125 career assists. Shank has posted double-doubles in each of her last three games, averaging 36.6 assists and 12 digs per match.
McKenzie Mitchell and Mary Jo Scott have been all over the floor on the defensive end, totaling 618 digs between the pair this season. Mitchell is currently sixth in the league in digs per set in NCAC-only matches with 4.42 per set. She averages a 4.36 digs per set overall this season. She also leads the team with 27 service aces.
Scott is also a viable threat on the offensive end, hitting opposite of DeLeon most of the season. The senior has 187 kills this season, averaging 2.15 per set. Over the season, she possesses six double-doubles, all coming in the month of October.
Kenyon's first tournament test comes from the team they opened up their NCAC schedule with, the Hiram College Terriers. In their earlier meeting, the Terriers took away a 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-18) win on their home court. In that match, DeLeon posted 10 kills and Mitchell made 15 digs.
Hiram (18-9, 6-2 NCAC) enters the tournament as the No. 2-seeded team in the eight-team field. Despite the successful mark, both of their conference losses have come in their last three matches at the hands of Wittenberg (3-0) and DePauw University (3-2). Hiram is second in the conference in hitting percentage (.224) and opponent hitting percentage (.137). They lead the league in blocks, averaging 2.72 per set, which is 0.50 blocks per set better than the next closest team.
The Terriers are led by Marissa Jay (3.88 kill/set) and Logan Brewer (1.25 block/set) while Tierra Moore (8.55 assist/set) and Lindsay Brewer (2.84 k/s) also have a large helping hand in the team's success.
Kenyon and Hiram will face off Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at Wittenberg University. If the Ladies pull out a win over the Terriers, they will then play on Saturday at 12 p.m. against the winner of the No. 3 Denison University / No. 6 The College of Wooster match. If Kenyon loses, they will play at 10 a.m. against the loser of the previously-mentioned match. All tournament action will conclude on Saturday.
To access the NCAC Tournament web page, click here.
