Roadrunners 3-1 at GRCC Raider Challenge

The Southwestern Michigan College Volleyball Team had a great day one at the GRCC Raider Challenge sweeping the Oakland Owls and beating the Mott Bears in 4 sets. "We worked hard this past week learning from the loss against Mott last weekend and using it to have a winning conference week and coming out prepared and fired up to get another shot at them," per Head Coach Jenny Nate. "Our starting right side hitter rolled her ankle in the Oakland match, and I was proud of the fact that despite having to make a quick lineup change, we maintained our consistent level of play, trust in each other, and got the job done." The Roadrunners ended Friday at 18-4 overall and 6-0 in conference play. 

Leading serving scorers for Friday: Meah Evans 25 points, 2 aces; Amie Schutz 19 points, 2 aces; Ryli Burks 9 points, 2 aces; Sophia Bachman 9 points; Carlie Ritchie 8 points, 2 aces; Talan Hiemstra 6 points, 2 aces; Reese Maas 3 points; Kadence Bixby 3 points

Kills: Lily Kowalik 27, Amie Schutz 26, Maggie Arney 21, Ryli Burks 16, Meah Evans 7, Sophia Bachman 2, Talan Hiemstra 1, Carlie Ritchie 1

Blocks: Lily Kowalik 10, Maggie Arney 8, Meah Evans 6, Amie Schutz 3, Ryli Burks 2, Talan Hiemstra 2, Sophia Bachman 2

Digs: Carlie Ritchie 47, Amie Schutz 31, Ryli Burks 26, Sophia Bachman 17, Meah Evans 11

Assists: Meah Evans 52, Sophia Bachman 27

Then on Saturday, SMC finished strong by battling during a tough 4 set loss to #15-ranked GRCC 25-17, 15-25, 17-25, 22-25 and then bouncing back to sweep Macomb 25-19, 25-17, 25-15 to finish the tourney 3-1 with a 5-1 week and overall 19-5 record. "I was beyond proud of the way we faced off with GRCC," Nate said. "We played with confidence and aggression and gave them a game. We were swinging hard and playing to win. We will take that loss and use it to prepare for the next round of conference play.  We have learned to win, and now we have to continue to gain leverage every practice and continue to improve and up our game."