SANDUSKY, Ohio – The Capital University volleyball team got the 2023 season underway this weekend at the Great Lakes Crossover hosted by Heidelberg at Cedar Point Sports Center. The Comets started strong on day one with a win over Alma in their first match 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16) and played competitively in their second, a 3-1 loss to Manchester (25-21, 17-25, 21-25, 21-25). Day two was marked by a tight 3-0 loss to Saint Mary's (24-26, 25-27, 23-25) and an impressive 3-0 win against Kenyon (25-19, 25-19, 25-11).
Cap currently sits at .500, 2-2 on the new season.
NEW FACES ON THE FLOOR
The Comets welcomed two newcomers to the team this season.
Kenadee Winters, a sophomore from Galloway, comes to Capital as a transfer from Wilmington, along with freshman local
Bryn Whitmer who hails from Columbus and will take over the squads primary setting duties.
Additionally, three returners -
Makenna Sullivan,
Haley Ernest, and
Samaree Perkins – made their debuts for the Purple and White over the weekend.
DAY ONE
Capital came out hot in the first match against Alma, winning in four sets: 25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16. Alma narrowly avoided a 3-0 sweep in the third set, mounting a late comeback to pull ahead in extra points. A rejuvenated Comets squad outscored the Scots 71.0-54.0, recording 48 kills, 43 assists, 17 service aces, and six blocks in the process. Newcomer
Bryn Whitmer led the way as the team's new primary setter with 40 assists and four aces in her debut. On the attacking end
Lindsay Rich and
Ryann Bunyak combined for 30 kills, Rich leading with 16. Rich also recorded a career-high in aces with a team-leading six. Defensively, libero
Abby Brunner racked up the most digs with 14 and
Samaree Perkins stood tall on the front line, making six blocks in her first appearance on the volleyball court for Capital.
The second game went a little slower for the Purple and White as they were beaten in four sets: 25-21, 17-25, 21-25, 21-25. While they ended up on the wrong end of the result, the Comets still put forth a very competitive effort, winning the first set and scoring 20 or more points in two of the three latter sets. Overall, Capital stayed within three points of the Spartans as they were outscored 60.0-57.0 in total. Again the defense was on display as Cap recorded seven blocks led by Perkins (5) and Rich (4). Whitmer added another 32 assists to her weekend total while Brunner put up 13 more digs.
Alissa Holler,
Larissa Smith, and Rich were the leading attackers; Holler with 10 kills and Smith and Rich with eight apiece.
DAY TWO
Unfortunately, Capital's lull dragged on into the first half of day two with a three set loss to Saint Mary's: 26-24, 27-25, 23-25. Again the Comets were not going down without a fight, scoring in the high 20s in all three sets and forcing extra points in the first two. Cap was dead even with the Belles in terms of kills (34-34), assists (28-29), and blocks (5-5) and even recorded more digs (46-36) and aces (14-10), and points (53.0-49.0). Whitmer was back at it with 20 assists, 10 digs, and four aces. She was tied for the team-lead in digs by
Haley Ernest followed by
Michaela Recker with nine. Rich led all attackers with 11 kills while Smith led the blocking effort with four.
CU capped off the weekend with a dominating performance against Kenyon, winning in straight sets: 25-19, 25-19, 25-11. The Comets outplayed the Owls in terms of points (55.0-29.0), kills (32-21), and assists (29-20) while recording an astonishing 21 aces. Recker remarkable from behind the serving line with a team-high eight aces, followed by Brunner with five and Whitmer with four. Whitmer would also add another 24 assists to her tally. Holler and Rich tied as the team's leading attackers with seven kills each,
Simone Daniel close behind with six. Daniel, Smith, and Perkins put up a block apiece. Brunner bagged ten digs as the libero.
OVERALL
Bryn Whitmer had quite the debut weekend with 116 total assists and 13 aces.
Abby Brunner would record 45 digs and a team-high 14 aces.
Lindsay Rich led the way with 42 total kills and carried a .365 hitting percentage over 85 attempts through the weekend, a career-high .500 in the first two matches. She was followed by
Larissa Smith with 26 kills hitting. 382, and
Samaree Perkins with 24. Perkins also put up 12 blocks.
UP NEXT
The Comets will open up their home schedule on Wednesday, September 6 against Ohio Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m. before hosting Bethany, Hanover, and Earlham in the Pam Briggs Classic over the weekend.
