#19 Wayne State 3 #6 Saint Leo (Fla.) 0
The 19th-ranked Wayne State College volleyball team hit a sizzling .420 while dominating 6th-ranked Saint Leo of Florida in a three game sweep (25-22, 25-14-25-13) Friday afternoon in the Wildcats' opening match at the Colorado Premier Volleyball Challenge in Denver. WSC is now 5-0 on the season while Saint Leo suffers its first loss of the season and is now 4-1. The 11-team tournament features nine Top 25 ranked teams in NCAA Division II, including three-time defending national champion and #1 ranked Concordia, St. Paul, #2 Tampa and #6 Saint Leo of Florida.
After hitting just .226 in the first game, the Wildcats stepped up their play hitting .440 in the second game with 12 kills and just one error in 25 attacks and hit .640 in the third game with 16 kills and no errors in 25 attacks. For the match, the Wildcats hit a sizzling .420 with 40 kills and just six errors in 81 total attacks while holding Saint Leo to a .176 hitting percentage forcing the Lions into 18 hitting errors.
The Wildcats were balanced at the net with junior outside hitter Tali Fredrickson accounting for 10 kills. Battle Creek freshman Cori Hobbs had a stellar match with eight kills and a .457 hitting percentage with just one error in 15 attacks. Jennifer Hefner and Shelby Schultz each contributed seven kills in the win. Junior libero Leigh Connot paced the Wildcats on defense with nine digs with senior setter Diedra Artz credited with 30 set assists.
Wayne State was scheduled to play Regis (Colorado) in a 4:30 p.m. match Friday at the Colorado Premier Challenge to close out pool play.
