Rockhurst opened Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play with a four-set victory over William Jewell Friday (Sept. 18) night inside Mason-Halpin Field House.
Rockhurst controlled the opening set, holding William Jewell to a -.029 hitting percentage while posting 11 kills in a 25-17 victory. The Cardinals responded by taking the second set, 25-18, to even the match.The Hawks answered with their best offensive set of the night in the third. Rockhurst hit .316 with nine kills and only three errors while limiting William Jewell to a -.063 hitting percentage. The Hawks rolled to a 25-12 win to regain control of the match. Rockhurst closed out the victory with 15 kills in the fourth set, hitting .257 on its way to a 25-22 win.
The Hawks finished with a .202 hitting percentage while holding William Jewell to just .008. Rockhurst held advantages in kills (47-33), blocks (18-10), assists (42-32) and digs (55-48).
A balanced Rockhurst attack featured three Hawks with nine kills. Alyssa McDonald finished with nine kills and four block assists, while Ali Olson recorded nine kills on a .353 hitting percentage to go along with eight total blocks. Riley Hays added nine kills and seven block assists. Delaney Hope provided another strong performance at the net, hitting .429 with seven kills and eight total blocks. Avery DeLong also collected seven kills. Molly Trachta led the Hawks with 17 assists and added a team-high nine digs. Kaitlyn Dumpit handed out 13 assists, while Abby Boyd and Bailey Donnelly each finished with seven digs. Carlie Pandjaris recorded two of Rockhurst's five service aces.
Rockhurst's defense at the net played a major role throughout the night, as the Hawks totaled 28 block assists and four solo blocks while forcing the Cardinals into 32 attack errors.
William Jewell was led by Silvia Fisher with nine kills and a .280 hitting percentage. Wylie Singleton finished with nine total blocks, while Ashlynn Rowland led the Cardinals with 12 digs.
The Hawks improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in GLVC play with the win. The victory gives Rockhurst a 1-0 start to its GLVC schedule as they continue conference play Friday (Sept. 25) and Saturday (Sept. 26).
