The Cougars women’s volleyball team continues their red-hot season going 3-1 in the Wyndham Garden Warsaw Volleyball Classic over the weekend, improving their record to 14-2.
Senior Nadia Atton reached a personal milestone of 1,000 career kills during their last match, as well as making school history.
Day one of the Warsaw Classic started with a tough match against Cumberland University that went five sets. Junior defensive specialist Kellylyn Kotowski reached a career-high in service aces with four, as well as 12 digs and an assist.
The Cougars were down one set to two but came back with a 25-16 win in the fourth to force a final set. The last set was just as close as the previous four and the Cougars pulled through with a 15-12 victory.
The second game of day one against University of Michigan-Dearborn was highlighted by career-highs for Nadia Atton, Kaleigh Ritter, and Megan Murphy, who tied a career-best. Atton finished game two with 28 kills, while Ritter posted an astounding 51 assists, and Murphy finished with 10 digs.
Game two again went five sets. The first set was dominated by the Cougars 25-12. The next three sets were evenly played as Michigan-Dearborn closed out a close fourth set to force the final set which The Cougars would go on to win.
Day two of the tournament started with a game against the host school, Grace College. The Cougars swept this game with scores of 25-19, 25-19, and 25-16. Sophomore middle blocker Courtney Hunter had a fantastic game with a season-high 13 kills. Senior outside hitter Jessica Belseth had four aces in the match, a season-best for her.
The last match of the tournament was against seven-ranked Marian University. The Cougars were defeated in three straight sets. Although the Cougars could not complete the tournament sweep, there was a bright spot in the game when Nadia Atton reached a milestone as she surpassed 1,000 kills in her collegiate career.
Atton finished the game with 17 kills. Her career kills are currently at 1,018. Not only did Atton reach a personal milestone, joining the 1,000 kills club, but she joined her sister Helena Atton on that list as well. The Atton sisters are the only pair of sisters to record at least 1,000 career kills in Saint Xavier history.
With just 12 regular season games left before the start of the CCAC tournament, it will be a thrill to watch the Cougars finish out their season in hopes of a conference title and a run at nationals.
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