The Wooster volleyball team has not lost an NCAC match in almost a month. Tomorrow afternoon the Scots (12-3, 21-8) will host Hiram College (13-2, 20-9) in the regular season finale. While the Terriers are one of the most talented teams the Scots have played all year, the Scots will look to not get spooked on Halloween and lock up second-place in the NCAC before the conference tournament.
Since a loss on Oct. 2 against Wittenberg University, the Scots have been as focused and relentless as a Glenn Beck rant. The Scots have gone 10-3 since their loss to the Tigers in Springfield, Ohio, with two of these losses coming against NAIA opponents Malone University and Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.
The Scots have received a slew of impressive performances during this 10-game NCAC win streak. KateLynn Riley í10 continues to lead the offense, totaling 409 kills. This total leads the conference. Riley also leads the NCAC in three other categories as well ó hitting percentage (.376), blocks (1.05) and points (486).
Lizzi Beal í12 has paced the offense and set up numerous opportunities for Riley and the rest of the team. Beal has tallied 903 assists this season, putting her second in the conference behind Denisonís Claire Koneval. The Scots have also received strong contributions from Melissa Morgan í13, Erin Webster í13 and Kelley Johnson í13. Morgan and Webster are second and third on the team in kills behind Riley, respectively. Johnson, meanwhile, has played consistently at libero and leads the team with 535 digs. This total places the first-year second in the conference overall in that category.
The Scots seem to be firing on all cylinders and ó simply put ó are currently hotter than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot. Tomorrowís match against Hiram will be an interesting test. Wittenberg and Hiram are the class of the NCAC. When the Scots last played these two teams, they were beaten relatively handily ó losing two matches to the Tigers and one match to the Terriers in nine straight sets. During these matches in late† September and early October, the teamís key first-years barely had a month of collegiate experience under their belts ó they had hardly broken in their knee pads. When they take the floor tomorrow, they will be riding a 10-game conference win streak.
The Scots have already qualified for the NCAC Tournament, and are assured of at least a No. 2 or 3 seed. With a 15-0 conference record, Wittenberg has already clinched the top spot in the tournament, and Allegheny has clinched the final tournament spot with a 9-6 conference record. While the Scots can move into a second-place tie with a win over Hiram tomorrow, they are assured of facing the Terriers again next week in the NCAC Tournament. The loser of tomorrowís match wonít have to brood for long ó theyíll get a chance at revenge next week when the stakes are even higher.
