PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Pitt State Volleyball team will face its first road test of the 2012 season on Friday and Saturday as it travels to Bolivar, Mo. for the SBU Purple Bash. The Gorillas will face East Central (Okla.) and Saint Leo at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Christian Brothers and Harding at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Pitt State opened 2012 with a 4-0 record at its home tournament last weekend. Though many of the scores were close, only one of the four matches took more than three sets for the Gorillas to clinch. The 4-0 start is the Gorillas' best since 2007.
As a team Pitt State hit at a .265 clip, while holding opponents to just a .162 hitting percentage. The Gorillas managed 15.3 kills per set and allowed opponents 12.8. PSU's serving was also tough with 22 aces over the four matches, 10 of those by senior Nicole Rockhold. Defensively, the team recorded 17.9 digs per set and 31.0 total blocks. Gorilla opponents had only 10 blocks over the four matches.
Both freshman Crystal Whitten and senior Brooke Fay recorded over 3.00 kills per set and a .300 hitting percentage. Whitten led the team with 3.54 kills per set and had a .311 hitting percentage. Fay led the team with a .313 hitting percentage and had 3.27 kills per set. Paul Okrutna (2.40 kps), Leah Flynn (2.33 kps) and Rockhold (2.00 kps) each also recorded two or more kills per set. Senior Becca Pearson and freshman Hayley Hansford shared setting duties, with Pearson contributing 8.08 aps and Hansford, 4.83.
Five different Gorillas recorded two or more digs per set with junior Christa McCaw leading the team with 3.15. Rockhold was not far behind her with 3.00. Others were Sam Wyatt (2.77 dps), Whitten (2.15 dps) and Pearson (2.00 dps).
Redshirt freshman Chloe Foster led the Gorillas at the net with 17 blocks (two solo, 15 assisted) for 1.42 bps. Okrutna added 1.00 bps with 10 total blocks (one solo, nine assisted).
East Central started the season 0-4 while playing at the Texas Woman’s Tournament in Denton, Texas. The team lost 3-0 to Texas Woman’s and Central Oklahoma and 3-1 to New Mexico Highlands and University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.
Tatiana Booth leads the team with 2.43 kills per set and 15 blocks. Sarah Nelson has a team-leading .273 hitting percentage. Jessica Wilkinson is the team’ promary setter, recording 5.50 assists per set in the opening weekend. Megan Hammond leads the team in digs with 3.79 digs per set.
Saint Leo comes into the Purple Bash with a perfect 4-0 record after opening the season with a home tournament in which they faced Charleston, Southwest Baptist, Montevallo and Queens (N.C.). The team earned 3-0 wins over Charleston and Montevallo and 3-1 wins over SBU and Queens.
The Lions average 13.50 kills kps and are hitting .228. They also add 2.46 bps and 14.43 dps defensively. Tawni Warren is the team’s leading point scorer with 3.6 pps (2.86 kps, 0.64 bps). Sami Vierk adds 2.69 kps amd 0.92 bps and hits at a .307 clip. Meghan Donovan is not far behind with a .308 hitting percentage 2.57 kps and a team leading 1.00 bps. Molly Alexander leads the team in digs with 3.86 dps. Lauren Campbell also adds over three digs per set with 3.36. Abby Lovell is the team’s setter with 9.92 assists per set.
The Christian Brothers Buccaneers opened their season with a 4-0 record in their home tournament in Memphis. The team earned 3-1 wins over Tiffin, Lincoln Memorial and Arkansas Tech and a 3-2 win over Ouachita Baptist.
The team averages 13.41 kills per set and hits at a .203 clip. They record 1.71 services aces, 18.82 digs and 2.0 blocks per set. Hannah Kurtz leads the team with 3.00 kps and 14 total blocks on the season. Kristina Headrick leads teh team with an impressive 6.18 digs per set. The primary setter is Kelsey Miles.
Harding is 3-2 in 2012. The team started its season in Pittsburg last weekend, going 2-2 in the Pitt State Classic, earning wins over Missouri Southern and William Jewell, but falling to Rockhurst and Emporia State. The team played a midweek match with Drury on Tuesday and earned a 3-0 win.
The Bison are hitting .177 as a team and average 12.89 kps. They add 1.61 aces per set offensively. Defensively, the team puts down 2.11 bps and digs up 14.94 dps. Mollie Arnold is the team’s leading hitter with 4.33 kps, having recorded almost twie as many kills as anyone else on the team. Alyssa Short is the team’s top blocker with 21 blocks on the season. Lisa Copeland leads the team in digs (4.78 dps) and aces (8 on the season). Amber Scinzing is the setter, recording 10.50 of the team’s 12.06 assists per set.
