OMAHA – Benedictine Volleyball took on a gauntlet of NAIA-ranked opponents on Friday and Saturday at the Labor Day Classic hosted by the College of St. Mary.
Benedictine drew No. 5 Eastern Oregon, No. 8 IU-Kokomo, No. 20 Midland and (RV) Dakota Wesleyan over Friday and Saturday.
Against Eastern Oregon, the Ravens were limited to .121 on the attack as they dropped the tournament opener 3-0. Barbara Terra made her season debut in the tournament, and led the Ravens with 13 kills while Audrey Franks added 8. Wren VanCleave finished with 29 assists and was one of two players with two players in double figures with 10 digs. Kelly DeMeulenaere led the back line defense with 11 digs.
Against IU-Kokomo, the Ravens were limited again on the attack, registering 31 kills over their 3-0 loss. Terra was the only Raven in double figures with 10 kills, followed by Lucy Drexel with 7. VanCleave finished with 17 assists while Lauren Stanga added 8 assists. DeMeulenaere led the defense with 18 digs, followed by Cate Milroy with 13. Rayleen Gladden finished with 3 block assists whileTerra added 2.
The Ravens finished their third match with Midland with their best attack percentage in the tournament so far, hitting .157. Terra led the attack, finishing with 16 kills. VanCleave added 22 assist while Stanga finished with 8. Defensively, DeMeulenaere finished with 16 digs while Lainee Mustain, Terra, JoJo Vander Woude and Gladden added a block assist each.
A .350 attack in the third set against Dakota Wesleyan in the final match of the tournament, allowed the Ravens to avoid being completely swept. They finished at .137 in the 3-1 loss. Terra led the attack with 21 kills, followed by Vander Woude with 10 and Bridget O'Sullivan with 9. Van Cleave finished with 32 assists while Stanga added 16. Defensively, DeMeulenaere led with 28 digs followed by Mustain with 15. At the net, Gladden finished with 3 block assists.
The Ravens remain on the road to open up Heart play on Friday and Saturday. They travel to MNU on Friday for a 7 p.m. match and to Peru State on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match.
www.ravenathletics.com | #UnleashGreatness | www.benedictine.edu