By: Bayley Goodman
Staff-Writer
Volleyball is on a hot streak improving their overall record to 10-5 after sweeping last year’s CCAC Champions and going on a five-game winning streak before falling to a top-ranked Olivet Nazarene.
The Titans have won six of their 15 games without dropping a set to their opponent and have only taken a team into five sets once in a 3-2 win over Judson earlier in the season. The winning team holds a few top-ranked players earning them CCAC awards two weeks in a row.
Junior McKenzie Powell earned setter of the week back on March 16 as she averaged 10.6 assists per set along with two double-doubles during an undefeated week. Powell is ranked 12th in assists per set (10.2) amongst all NAIA Division I players and leads the CCAC to earn her honors.
Senior Hannah Marchand collected two CCAC titles earning attacker and defender of the week on March 16. The middle hitter marked no less than 15 kills in any of the four matches in the previous week and marked a pair of double-doubles. The Titan collected 18 kills and 19 digs against St. Francis and 25 kills and 11 digs against Lincoln College. She is ranked first in conference in kills per set (4.5), fifth in hitting percentage (.294) and seventh in blocks per set (0.8).
Marchand earned a second consecutive CCAC award after being named attacker of the week on March 23. The senior still holds first place for kills per set but improved to fourth in hitting percentage and fifth in blocks per set.
Saturday’s contest for the Titans welcomed Cardinal Stritch in the Student Activities Center, a team that had swept IU South Bend earlier in the month. The Titans were on a two-game losing streak after dropping to Trinity International and Trinity Christian earlier in the week and were ready for a fight. After dropping the first set to the Wolves, IU South Bend flipped the tables and captured the next two giving them the 2-1 advantage. Cardinal Stritch evened the matches winning the fourth and took it down to the very end in the fifth set. Titans went on a 3-1 run to end the fifth match 15-13 winning their tenth game of the season and tying for fourth place in conference standings.
Only two regular games remain for IU South Bend volleyball until they head into tournament play. The team will travel to Chicago, Ill. to play Roosevelt on March 30 and return home for their last regular season game against Calumet St. Joseph.
