No. 25 Benedictine Volleyball hits the road for three straight matches this week, first on the schedule, a trip to Baldwin City tonight to take on Baker University for the second time this season.
Tonight's JV match is at 5 p.m. and should be streamed at https://heartconferencenetwork.com/baker/. The Varsity match is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be live on UEN at https://www.urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/3342. The win over the Wildcats earlier this season was the first for the Ravens since the 2024 season. Prior to the pair of losses last year, the Ravens had won seven straight.
After taking on Baker tonight, the Ravens hit the road for a trip to (9) Missouri Baptist University on Friday and then they finish up the week on Saturday against William Woods University.
FIRST TIME AROUND
The match with the Wildcats is a rematch from the Sept. 15 match inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium where the Ravens earned a 3-1 win. The Ravens jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Baker avoided the sweep. Benedictine responded with a commanding 25-7 win in the fourth set to clinch the win. Barbara Terra led the Ravens attack with 14 while Stefania Scomazzon and JoJo Vander Woude each finished with 13. Wren VanCleave anchored the attack with 44 assists. The Wildcats didn't have any hitters reach double digits as they were led by Amy Widhalm with 9 and Brie Weiler-Reedy with 8. To check out the recap from the first match, visit https://ravenathletics.com/sports/womens-volleyball/stats/2026/baker-university/boxscore/5760
MORE HEART WEEKLY HONORS
Two Ravens earned recognition from the Heart of America Athletic Conference this week. Wren VanCleave earned her third Heart Women's Volleyball Setter of the Week while Barbara Terra
Terra finished Friday's match with Grand View with 28 kills, setting a new 4-set match record for the Ravens. She finished the week with a total of 35 kills while hitting .361 over the two wins with a 4.38 kills per set average.
VanCleave finished the two matches with 88 total assists at 11 assists per set. She finished with 48 against Grand View and added 40 against William Penn.
RANKED RAVENS
Stefania Scomazzon continues to hold the lead in the NAIA in aces. In 22 matches, she now has 75 aces while her 0.91 aces per set average is also tops in the NAIA.
Benedictine has two of the top hitters in the Heart of America Athletic Conference so far this season. Scomazzon and Barbara Terra are in the top five in total kills with 350 and 246 respectively. Scomazzon leads the Heart while Terra is fourth. They are first and second in the Heart in kills per set at 4.27 and 3.67.
Wren VanCleave leads the Heart in total assists with 849 while ranking second in assists per set at 10.35.
Ava Penuel ranks 10th in the Heart in total digs with 307 at 3.74 per set while the Ravens have three total players ranked in the top 15 in digs with Kelly DeMeulenaere at 263 and VanCleave at 241.
ABOUT BAKER
Baker sits at 17-5 overall and is 7-4 in the Heart, which headed into the week is tied for fifth with Park and MNU. The Wildcats have won 3 of their last 4, which includes a 3-0 loss at the hands of Grand View this past Saturday. Baker has gone 5-3 since losing to Benedictine in Atchison.
The Wildcats enter play today with a 13.05 kills per set average while hitting .200 as a team. Baker is ninth in the Heart in blocks per set at 1.82 while they rank sixth in the Heart in total digs with 1,311 at 17.25 per set.
Alyssa Reichard and Aby Widhalm are the top two hitters for the Wildcats at 178 and 177 kills each. Widhelm leads the team at 2.72 kills per set.
Stella Kelly leads the team in assists with 461, but the Wildcats have three players with over 130 assists this season.
UP NEXT
No. 9 Missouri Baptist enters the week at 20-2 overall and a half-game ahead of Benedictine in the Heart standings at 12-0. The Spartans have won 13 straight – the second-longest winning streak in the Heart behind Benedictine's 16 match streak.
Fernanda Perini was named the Heart Women's Volleyball Defender of the Week on Monday. She recorded 16 block assists and averaged 1.78 blocks per set across nine sets in wins over William Woods, MNU and Park. She also finished the week with 21 kills with a .279 attack percentage.
William Woods enters the week on a 6-match losing streak as they are 2-12 overall and 1-11 in the Heart.
The Ravens take on the Spartans at 7 p.m. Friday and then take on the Owls at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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