DURANT, Okla. – For the second week of the season, Western volleyball will be on the road at the South Central Classic hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Over the two day tournament, Western will play four matches against relatively unfamiliar rivals.
Coming off the Microtel and Travelodge Classic last week, Western (0-4) will be in search of their first win of the season. Early in the season, the Mountaineers have been led by offensively by the trio of Kathleen Kasel, Maddy Johnson, and Chelsea Bostwick.
Kasel, the senior middle hitter has played in every set for the Mountaineers, averaging 1.86 kills per set for a total of 26 in the young season. Also appearing in all 14 sets, Maddy Johnson leads the team in hitting percentage at .289 with 22.5 kills and an average of 1.61 per set. Playing in more limited action, Bostwick has tallied 23 kills for a 2.3 per set average.
Setting up her teammates, Hanna Hendrickson has managed many facets of the game so far for the Mountaineers. With an average of 7.71 assists per game, Hendrickson is distributing well for Western. Additionally, she has tallied the second most digs on the team at 30 for a 2.14 per set average.
At the South Central Classic, Western's weekend will be book-ended with a tough matches.
Starting things off on Friday morning, Western takes the court at 9 a.m. (MT) against a tough University of Central Oklahoma team. On the season, UCO is 3-2. This will be the fourth game all-time between the Bronchos and the Mountaineers who trail in the series 1-2.
Friday afternoon, Western continues match play against the host Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savage Storm. SOSE enters the weekend with a 1-3 record following a 13-20 season last year. Western is 1-1 all-time with SOSE after dropping a match with them last season.
Saturday morning, Western returns to action against Southern Nazarene University at 9:00 a.m. (MT). On the season, the season SNU is 2-2. The Mountaineers and Storm will play for the first time in the history of both programs this weekend.
Closing out the weekend, Western faces a 3-1 Southern Arkansas University squad that finished the 2017 season 8-23. Like SNU, this will be the first time Western has played the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas.
Be sure to check back to gomountaineers.com for recaps of the action on Friday and Saturday nights.
