WHAC QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW: Volleyball set to host Madonna on Wednesday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Madonna (19-13, 12-8) | 21 | 20 | 19 | 0 |
|
Rochester Christian (Mich.) (21-11, 13-7) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's volleyball team is set to make its first-ever appearance in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament since RCU joined the WHAC in 2017. Not only are the Warriors appearing in the tournament, but they will be playing host to the Madonna Crusaders.
GAME INFORMATION
#4 Rochester Christian Warriors vs. #5 Madonna Crusaders
November 12 | 7 PM | Garth Pleasant Arena | Rochester Hills, MI
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Program
ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
The Crusaders are led by Head Coach Scott Barbe, who is in his fourth season leading the Crusaders. Barbe has an overall record of 67-38, leading Madonna.
Kira Buza leads both Madonna and the WHAC this season in kills with 454, averaging over four per set, with Paige Caradonna and Alyviah Wright recording 221 and 218, respectively. Wright leads the team with a .361 hitting percentage. Karlee Stoll is the top setter in the conference, averaging 10.09 assists per set with 959 total assists.
The defensive back line is led by Lexi Forti, who has tallied 481 digs this season, which is third-most in the WHAC. Kira Buza has recorded 301 digs, being second on the team. The top blocker on the Crusaders is Katie Mulka, who's blocked 115 attacks, which is the fourth-most in the WHAC this season.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
The Warriors are led by Head Coach Juliana Nash, who is in her third season leading RCU. Nash has a 31-62 record in her three seasons leading the Warriors.
RCU's offense is led by four different Warriors who have totaled over 200 kills this season, with Chante Hudgins leading the charge with 233, while Kendal Zeiter, Hailee Mancogna, and Alivia Everitt are right behind her with 227, 226, and 221, respectively. Hudgins leads those four players with a .259 hitting percentage. Mackenzie Keefer has led the way as RCU's setter with 801 assists this season, which is third all-time in program history and third in the WHAC.
Leading the defensive back line this year has been Ashley Horne, who has recorded 424 digs, which is fifth-most in the WHAC. Leading up front this season has been Chante Hudgins and Alivia Everitt, who both have 103 total blocks. Hudgins leads the team with 33 solo blocks, while Everitt is top on the team with 90 assisted blocks. They are tied for sixth in the WHAC this season in total blocks, while Hudgins is first in solo blocks.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)
These two teams have faced off twice this season, with Rochester Christian earning wins in both matches.
On September 10th, these teams squared off in Livonia with RCU winning, 3-0 with set wins of 25-21, 25-16, and 25-23. Hailee Mancogna led RCU with nine kills, and MU was led by Kira Buza with 13. RCU as a team recorded a hitting percentage of .273, while Madonna recorded 23 errors for a .112 percentage. RCU had 15 total blocks, while Madonna recorded eight.
A month later, Madonna came to Rochester Hills on October 10 for the second matchup of the season with RCU, yet again coming away with a win, pulling out a thrilling 3-2 win.
Kira Buza once again led all attackers with 24 kills in the match, while a pair of RCU attackers tallied double-digit kills, with Alivia Everitt and Chante Hudgins tallying 16 and 14, respectively. Ashley Horne and Karlee Stoll led the teams with 19 digs each, while RCU once again dominated the net with 27 blocks to Madonna's 12.
STAT COMPARISON
|
RCU |
STATS |
MU |
|
20-11 |
RECORD (WHAC RECORD) |
19-12 |
|
13-7 |
MATCHES |
12-8 |
|
107 |
SETS |
114 |
|
1,278 (11.94) |
KILLS (KILLS/SET) |
1,449 (12.71) |
|
3,724 (18.6%) |
TOTAL ATTACKS (HIT %) |
3,968 (21.1%) |
|
1,199 (11.21) |
ASSISTS (ASSISTS/SET) |
1,365 (11.97) |
|
179 (1.67) |
SERVICE ACES (ACES/SET) |
211 (1.85) |
|
1,766 (16.50) |
DIGS (DIGS/SET) |
1,847 (16.20) |
|
235 (2.20) |
TOTAL BLOCKS (BLOCKS/SET) |
212 (1.86) |
|
1,692 (15.8) |
POINTS (POINTS/SET) |
1,871.5 (16.4) |
WHAC TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Nov. 12, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 14-15
The top eight (8) teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the conference tournament. Seeding will be based on the WHAC regular-season finish. The higher-seeded team hosts the lower-seeded team. The highest seed after the quarterfinal round will host the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Round - Wednesday, Nov. 12
Game #1: #1 Aquinas vs #8 Siena Heights | 7 p.m.
Game #2: #4 Rochester Christian vs #5 Madonna | 7 p.m.
Game #3: #2 Cornerstone vs #7 Defiance | 7 p.m.
Game #4: #3 Indiana Tech vs #6 Lawrence Tech | 7 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 14
Game 5: #1/#8 winner vs. #4/#5 winner
Game 6: #2/#7 winners vs. #3/#6 winner
Finals - Saturday, Nov. 15
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6