SANDUSKY, Ohio -- The Heidelberg University Volleyball team kicked off the 2024 campaign at the massive Great Lakes Cross Over -- a 23-team, 47-match jamboree at the Cedar Point SportsCenter. Heidelberg went 2-3 on the weekend.
The Student Princes dropped the season opener to Allegheny, 3-2, forcing a fifth set after dropping the first two. In the end, the Gators took the final three points of the deciding set and won, 25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 15-13.
LeTourneau University slipped past The Berg, 3-1, in just the second meeting between the schools all-time. The Yellowjackets won 17-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23.
Heidelberg kicked off Saturday with a pair of sweeps -- besting Chatham and Monmouth. HU handled Chatham 25-16, 25-19, 25-23, then dispatched the Fighting Scots, 26-24, 25-16, 25-20.
The final match of the weekend was a five-setter with Grove City. HU took the first and fourth, but lost 19-25, 25-22, 25-14, 19-25, 15-12.
Among players who played in 10+ sets,
Riley Tople led the attack -- hitting at a .329 clip.
Anneliese Schriber had a team-high 43 kills, narrowly beating
Lexi Wachtman by one.
Sophomore
Maddie Reed and freshman
Olivia Miller set up the offense -- dishing up 93 and 80 assists, respectively.
Defensively,
Grace Dohanyos settled into her new role as libero and tallied 97 digs. At the net,
Kaitlyn Uffman had a team-high 18 blocks, with
Riley Ameel (14) and
Grace Porter (13) also in double figures.
Heidelberg returns to action with three games next weekend -- taking on Christopher Newport, Schreiner, and Marymount.
