NORTH CANTON, Ohio – After picking up two wins on Saturday, the Urbana University women’s volleyball team closed out the Cavalier Classic with a 3-1 record to start the season off on a strong note.
In the first match of the day, the Blue Knights cruised past league-foe Glenville State in straight sets with scores of 25-12, 25-17, 25-15.
UU strung together late runs to move past the Pioneers in all three sets, including a 12-2 burst in the first frame. After a much closer second set, the Blue Knights closed the match out with a strong 9-0 run in the third, which was highlighted by three Madison Davis (Nelsonville, Ohio/Nelsonville-York HS) service aces.
Junior Aleese Butler (Blacklick, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln HS) recorded a stellar .733 attacking percentage with 11 kills and zero errors. Senior Mari King (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn HS) had a season-high nine kills.
In the weekend finale, UU posted a solid four-set victory and came one point away from another win in straight sets. The final scores of the match were 25-17, 25-12, 26-24, 25-18.
UU led 24-23 in the third and had a match-point opportunity, but the Senators rallied to score three consecutive points to steal the set.
That lit a fire under the Blue Knights as they raced out to a 14-2 advantage in the fourth set, before cruising the rest of the way.
Junior Katlynn Dunlap (Zoarville, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley HS) led with 19 kills and .400 attacking percentage. She finished the two-day tournament with 45 kills, lifting her two spots into fifth all-time among UU career kills leaders with 844 total. She needs 79 more to reach fourth place on the chart.
Fellow junior Mikaela Beck (Detroit, Mich./Wallad Lake Central HS) had 15 kills and nine digs. Beck led the Blue Knights with 47 kills over the past two days, which was her first action on the court for Urbana since transferring last winter.
Maia Dunlap (Zoarville, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley HS) totaled a team-high 18 digs and freshman Alyssa Myers (Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall HS) registered a career-high 40 assists. Freshman Audrey Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles Community HS) also had a career-high 16 digs.
UU outhit the Senators .228 to .063 on attack percentage while posting 20 more kills (51-31).
The Blue Knights will open up the home portion of their schedule Tuesday night against Cedarville. Match start time is slated for 7 p.m. at the Warren G. Grimes Center.
