If the Wooster volleyball team was missing the presence of departed seniors Ali Drsuhal í09 and Megan Earle í09 in their first games of this 2009 season, it surely didnít show this weekend. With exceptional performances from setter Lizzi Beal í12 and outside hitter KateLynn Riley í10, the Scots strolled to a record of 4-0 at the teamís home opening tournament and caught the rest of the competition with its spandex down at the Kilt Classic.
By the end of the weekend, Manchester College, Baldwin-Wallace College, Westminster (Pa.) College and LaRoche College simply didnít know what had hit them.
After taking Manchester and Baldwin-Wallace in three sets each last Friday night, the Scotsí dominance was as swift and effective as Kanye Westís interruption at the VMA Awards. The Scots notched their first win of the night against Manchester (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) and followed up the impressive win with yet another sweep, this time againstthe Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets (25-14, 25-19, 25-23).
The following morning, the Titans were able to notch the only set won against the Scots all weekend. However, the Scots still escaped the Titans with relative ease (25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18). In the Scotsí final match of the tournament, they rolled over the LaRoche Lady RedHawks (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) to complete an unblemished weekend.
While the Scots received strong performances from a number of players this weekend, Beal emerged as the star of the tournament. She set the tone 107 assists over the course of the tournamentís 11 sets and tossed in 15 kills and 47 digs for good measure. The 107 assists brought Bealís assist average to 8.46 per set on the season.
A good portion of Bealís sets went to the All-American outside hitter Riley, who made it rain as she tallied 65 kills in the teamís four matches. More impressively, 62 of these kills came in the first three matches of the tournament. In the four sets against Westminster, she notched 22 kills. Beal and Riley both were named to the all-tournament team and wreaked havoc as a 1-2 punch all weekend.
While Beal and Riley ran a clinic, they werenít the only contributors this weekend. The most encouraging performance came from Kelley Johnson í13. Johnson tallied 71 digs during the tournament, with 31 coming against Westminster. She has the somewhat unenviable task of replacing Drushal, who was an All-American and three-time NCAC Libero of the Year. However, if Johnson continues her effective backcourt play the rest of the season, Johnson will make her own name for herself at the libero position.
The Scots also received big performances at the service line from Erin Webster í13 and Margaret Rabbe í12. Webster and Raabe knocked in nine and six service aces, respectively.
Earlier in the week, Riley had been named as the NCAC Player of the Week as she led the Scots to a second-place finish at the Bishop Invitational. At that tournament, Riley totaled 55 kills, 22 digs and 19 blocks as the team won three of its first five before this weekendís strong performance.
While the team was forced to replace only two main contributors from last year, Drushal and the versatile Earle left big shoes to fill. However, the team is already off to a strong start with a 7-2 record two weeks into the season. Last year, the Scots dropped a number of early contests before battling back to over .500 in NCAC play. With the formidable offensive combo of Beal and Riley, along with the newcomer Johnsonís defensive prowess, the team should be in the thick of things all season long.