The Wayne State volleyball team made it 2-for-2 in weekend road trips with a four-game sweep at the Shark Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
On Friday, the 22nd ranked Wildcats posted sweeps over Belmont Abbey (25-14, 25-11, 25-19) and Grand Valley State (25-14, 25-8, 25-19).
In the win over Belmont Abbey, the Wildcats posted six service aces and hit at a .429 kill percentage in the first set. Kelsie Cada had four of her team-high 10 kills in the second set, an the Wildcats forced seven Belmont Abbey and recorded four blocks to finish off the sweep.
Cada had 10 kills and eight digs to lead Wayne State. Tarrin Beller hit .583 and had seven kills, and Hope Carter led the team with 11 digs and added two ace serves. Haley Kauth had 10 digs and three aces. Rachel Walker had 35 assists and nine digs and five blocks.
Against Grand Valley State, the Wildcats forced the Lakers into a minus-.027 hitting percentage and added eight service aces to post the easy sweep.
Beller led the team with 11 kills and six blocks, while Cada added seven kills and Maddie Konbbe finished with six. Carter had 21 digs and Kauth added 15. Duffy and Morgan Alexander each had two aces while Walker had 27 assists.
On Saturday, the Wildcats added two more wins to improve to 8-0 on the season, sweeping Florida Tech (25-12, 25-12, 25-21) and Southern New Hampshire (25-17, 25-11, 25-9).
In the Florida Tech matchup, Wayne State hit .419 in the opening set and .235 for the match while the defense limited the Panthers to a .047 hitting effort for the match.
Alyssa Ballenger led the way with 10 kills and three digs, Cada and Jaci Brahmer each had nine and Beller finished with six. Alexander had 15 digs and Duffy added 12 digs, Carter led in ace serves with four and Walker had 30 assists.
Wayne State made quick work with SNH to close out the weekend. The Penmen scored the first two points of the match, but it was all Wayne State after that as the Wildcats hit .350 for the match compared to SNH’s .020.
Beller and Cada each had 13 kills and Katie Stephens added six. Cada also had 15 digs and Kauth added 11. Walker had 33 assists.
Wayne State opens up Northern Sun Conference play this weekend with a 6 p.m. matchup at MSU Moorhead on Friday, followed by a Saturday matchup with Northern State.
