The No. 6 Wayne State College Wildcats were dominant from behind the service line and at the net as they came out firing with 15 aces and 80 kills this weekend in Minnesota as they swept both Bemidji State and No. 18 Minnesota Duluth.
The weekend started at Bemidji State University where the ‘Cats took only an hour and seven minutes to sweep the Beavers. The Wildcats took set one 25-15, set two 25-21, and set three 25-17.
Freshman Delaney Miller led the team with 14 kills followed by junior Channatee Robles who had 11 kills and two aces. The ‘Cats also had a total of six aces along with a .346 hitting percentage. WSC held the Beavers to 32 kills with a .124 hitting percentage.
“The team has been working hard in practice and it’s rewarding to see that effort pay off,” Robles said. “Everyone was locked in, communicating well, and playing with confidence, which made a big difference.”
The second stop of the road trip was to No. 18 Minnesota Duluth who struggled with 21 errors in the match.
“The goal going into the Duluth game was to play our game, no matter how they performed,” sophomore Anna Borner said.
The ‘Cats took advantage of the 21 errors and swept the Bulldogs, with set wins of 25-21, 25-20, and 25-19.
“We knew it was going to be a battle going into it, so just making sure we played with focus and poise helped us secure that win,” Borner said.
The Wildcats were led by Channatee Robles who had 13 kills, four aces, and three blocks along with sophomore Chloe Hanel who had seven kills, two aces, and four blocks.
As a team, the ‘Cats had nine aces, which is the second most of the season for the team. They also had seven blocks, a .275 hitting percentage, and only seven errors in this top 20 matchup.
This win boosted WSC’s record to 20-3 overall and 13-1 in conference play. Borner kept going back to the wins coming from the team’s mindset and how playing together leads to success.
“I think the takeaway from this weekend was that it doesn’t matter who or where we play, as long as we play our game and stay together, good things will happen,” Borner said.
Head coach Scott Kneifl believed that the team accomplished what they needed to by “playing clean” this weekend and that they have gained “momentum” going into this weekend where the ‘Cats come in still ranked sixth in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II WVB Poll.
WSC remains tied for first in the NSIC with Concordia-St. Paul before the matchups this week where the Wildcats host MSU Moorhead on Friday at 6 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 2 p.m.