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Game Notes: Volleyball takes unblemished record to Rumpke Invite
By Matt Green
Lady Hawks (6-0) at Rumpke Invitational (Georgetown, Ky.)
Friday, Sept. 9: vs. Union (Ky.), 2:30 pm; vs. Grace (Ind.), 7:30 pm
Saturday, Sept. 10: at Georgetown (Ky.), 10 am; vs. Montreat, 12:30 pm
GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- Off to the best start in program history, the Shorter volleyball squad heads to Georgetown, Ky., this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9 and 10, to compete in the Rumpke Invitational hosted by Georgetown College. The Lady Hawks (6-0) will take on Union (Ky.) and Grace (Ind.) on Friday at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm, respectively. Shorter then closes out the weekend on Saturday against host Georgetown at 10 am and Montreat at 12:30 pm.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Shorter will square off with all four teams for the first time ever this weekend. The Lady Hawks have a tough road if they hope to stay unbeaten through the weekend -- Georgetown was the NAIA national runner-up in 2009 while Grace (Ind.) is receiving a vote in the latest NAIA Volleyball Top 25 Coaches Poll.
DIGGIN' IT
Tanequa Whitman was a defensive nightmare for Bryan College in Shorter's 3-2 win over the Lions on Wednesday night. The junior from Huntsville, Ala., recorded a career-high with 27 digs as Shorter rallied from a 2-0 match deficit to post its sixth straight win. The 27 digs are the highest single-game total for a Lady Hawk since Kayla Rollins had 28 digs in a five-set win over Brenau back on Nov. 6, 2008.
THREE AMIGOS
Shorter's top three hitters have been exceptional through six matches, each succeeding while playing their own unique style. Powerful redshirt freshman Jasmine Crook has dazzled with her athleticism to the tune of a team-high 71 kills. Reliable freshmen Tori Bradley has shown the ability to play her best in the biggest moments -- she had a career-high 15 kills in Shorter's upset over Freed-Hardeman and posted a team-high 14 kills in the Lady Hawks' comeback win over Bryan -- and ranks second on the team with 60 kills. Hard working senior Jessica Cooper has been incredibly efficient for the Lady Hawks with 58 kills against just nine errors for a sizzling hitting percentage of .415.
SERVING IT UP
Shorter ranks as one of the country's top serving teams through the first three weeks of the season. The Lady Hawks rank 15th in the country in service aces per game (2.7) and in the top 50 in total service aces with 56 in just six matches. Senior Meghan Weller currently leads the roster with 16 aces and is on pace to set a new career-high -- her current career high is 39 aces in 2010 -- and junior Loren Olive stands just 50 aces away from tying Shorter's all-time career aces record of 163 with her 11 aces this season.
