With two straight victories -- in straight-set fashion, no less -- against Bluefield (Va.) and Rio Grande, the Shawnee State volleyball program has momentum to build on.
Can they continue that momentum and make it three victories in a row while scoring its biggest win of the season in one fell swoop?
One would certainly hope so.
The Bears, who sit at 2-7 overall, will look to even their overall record at 1-1 in conference action as Shawnee State faces No. 9 Lindsey Wilson in a Mid-South Conference matchup that will commence on Wednesday evening at SSU.
Shawnee State, who claimed two straight set victories over the weekend against the Rams (25-16, 25-13, 25-19) and the Red Storm (25-21, 25-16, 25-20), got strong efforts again from its three leaders in senior libero/defensive specialist Stacia Martin, sophomore outside hitter Macie Rhoads, and junior setter Maria Kolinoff.
Martin, who now has 1,036 digs for her career and 912 overall at Shawnee State, posted 83 of her 125 digs last week -- including 34 in the two victories against Bluefield (Va.) and Rio Grande -- while Kolinoff, who has already posted 210 assists in 2019, put together 145 dimes last week. Rhoads, meanwhile, leads Shawnee State in kills and attack percentage and sits second on the team in digs while coming off of a weekend where the junior posted three double-doubles to go along with a career-high 21 kills against Point Park (Pa.).
As a team, Shawnee State, who has now upped its attack percentage to .165 overall, will have to continue to show improvement on that mark against Lindsey Wilson. The Blue Raiders, who sit with a 7-2 overall record, already have a victory over No. 8 Midland (Neb.) to their credit behind the play of Kasia Niderla, who, as a 6-2 freshman, is currently third in the NAIA in hitting percentage (.416) and leads Lindsey Wilson with 110 kills overall. Emily Burke's 88 kills on a .227 attack percentage, along with Autumn Proctor's 224 assists, lead yet another stout Blue Raiders' frontline.
The Mid-South Conference bout between the two schools will start at 6 p.m. inside Waller Gymnasium.
