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Several Lady Oilers lead in GLIAC stats
By Kevin Schrock
@KRock_6
The University of Findlay volleyball team has been running through the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference lately. Touting a record of 16-6 along with their 9-2 GLIAC record, the group finds themselves ranked #28 in the nation among division two teams.
The only team standing between Findlay and first place in the conference is Ferris State. The Oilers had a chance to change that last Friday when they played host to the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, the Oilers, who hadn’t lost at home all year, dropped three straight sets to Ferris State who currently holds the #21 ranking in the latest AVCA Coaches poll.
Fortunately for the Oilers the loss to Ferris State didn’t carry over to Saturday as they had another tough task. Grand Valley State University visited Croy Gymnasium looking to try to leapfrog a few spots in the GLIAC standings where they currently find themselves tied for fourth place. Behind a double-double (18 kills, 11 digs) from Amanda Winner and nine blocks from Mallorie Kah the Oilers took the match from the Lakers three sets to one.
With six GLIAC games left before the conference tournament, the Oilers look to give themselves a chance at the number one seed by winning out. The toughest opponent they will face is Wayne State. The Warriors (17-5, 8-3), find themselves right behind the Oilers in third place in the conference. The big advantage for Findlay is that they will get to play the match in Croy where they have been almost unbeatable.
The Oilers success so far this season has been an incredible team effort. With different players scattered all over the conference leaderboards, there are a lot of weapons that head coach Wick Colchagoff can turn to.
Leading the GLIAC in service aces per set is Winner. She averages 0.64 which blows second place, 0.39, out of the water. Nickyla Garverick also leads the conference in hitting percentage at .374 while Hannah Tong finds herself second in the GLIAC averaging 4.06 kills per set. Kah, a senior for the Oilers, has amassed 1.2 blocks per set, which is good enough for second in the conference as well.
The Oilers will play today at Lake Erie, but the next game at home will be the matchup against Wayne State on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Oilers couldn’t knock off the Warriors in Detroit earlier this year — but a big crowd at Croy could spur them on to victory.
