By Gary R. Rasberry
grasberry@dailystandard.com The previous week has been good to Erin Puthoff.
The University of Findlay sophomore was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division's Player of the Week after tallying 48 kills and a .346 hitting percentage as the Oilers currently are on a five-match winning streak.
In four matches last week, the Oilers went the minimum three games against Indianapolis, Mercyhurst, Gannon and Wheeling Jesuit. The streak is big as the team goes into the GLIAC Tournament tonight against Hillsdale.
The Marion Local grad leads the 24-7 Oilers (11-6 in GLIAC) in kills with 4.02 kills per game and is second in digs with 3.06 per game.
The local flavor continues up at Findlay as another former Flyer Kelly Pohlman is second in kills with 3.45 per game and second in blocks at 1.35 per game. Celina graduate Lana Beck-stedt has come off the bench as a defensive specialist for the Oilers, averaging 0.80 digs per game in 75 games this season.
Kaup heading to
Big East Tournament
Syracuse currently is on one of the best rolls in the nation, winning their last 11 matches and posting three-game sweeps in four of their last five matches.
The Orangewomen are currently 24-5 and 7-1 in the Big East sharing the lead with Pittsburgh and Notre Dame at the top of the standings and earning one of the four spots in the Big East Championhsip Nov. 20-21.
Freshman Joscie Kaup has been a major part of the success. Playing in all 108 games this season, the Fort Recovery graduate leads the team with 3.81 digs per game as the libero for coach Jing Pu's team.
Kaup's numbers in digs is good enough for seventh in the Big East in all games played.
Syracuse wraps up the regular season this weekend with home matches against West Virginia on Friday and the season finale on Sunday with Pitt.
Gibson running Eagles right
Carson Newman is currently third in the South Atlantic Conference thanks in large part to the attack setup by sophomore setter Kari Gibson.
The Celina graduate leads the Eagles with 10.83 assists per game as Carson-Newman is currently 24-9 on the season and 9-5 in the SAC. C-N is also almost unbeatable at home, going 11-2 in matches this season.
Gehret, Bears ready for postseason
Ohio Northern finished last week off by winning the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament title by beating Baldwin-Walace in four games on Saturday at the ONU Sports Center.
Now the Polar Bears will stay at home -- the team hosted the OAC tourney -- by hosting the Great Lakes Regional of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball tournament staring Thursday. The Polar Bears, ranked fifth in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association at 29-4, will play the winner of Mount St. Joseph and Notre Dame (Maryland) on Friday at 7 p.m.
A key cog in the lineup is senior hitter Diane Gehret. The Marion grad earned first-team All-OAC honors this season as one of the top hitters in the conference. Gehret is second on the team in kills with 3.53 per came and third in blocks with 0.60 per game.
Poling doing the hitting
Wright State sophomore Sarah Poling has shined during a tough season for the Raiders, who are just 4-23 overall and 2-10 in the Horizon League.
Poling leads the team and is seventh in kills per game through all games with 3.15 per game. Poling also is third in digs on the team with 2.95 per game.
Wuebker pacing Dukes, Hess seeing playing time
Duquense University junior Diana Wuebker (St. Henry) has been the constant hitter this season for the 14-14 Dukes. The 6-1 middle hitter leads the team with 3.18 kills per game and in blocks with 1.01 per game. Wuebker is also second on the team in digs with 3.28 per game.
The Dukes' also have seen good contributions from freshman Lindsay Hess, another St. Henry grad. Hess has played in 21 games this season, averaging 1.10 kills per game.
Duquense, coached by New Bremen native Steve Opperman, have won two straight matches to stand at 6-6 in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes wrap up the regular season by hosting a pair of Ohio teams in Xavier and Dayton before hosting the A10 Tournament next week. |
