BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University volleyball won all four of its matches to share the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Ohio Athletic Conference Crossover championship inside the Ursprung Gymnasium.
BW (18-0) tied with Ohio Northern University as co-champions with 4-0 records and identical 12-2 set records. The Yellow Jackets also improved to 11-1 in the last three crossovers.
On Friday, BW defeated Defiance College by scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-10 then put away Bluffton University by scores of 25-16, 27-25 and 25-20. The Yellow Jackets closed out the crossover on Saturday as it knocked of Hanover (Ind.) College by scores of 25-18, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-15 and Mount St. Joseph University by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 24-26 and 25-13.
Junior two-time All-OAC outside hitter Alicia Lortcher (Norwalk), who was named to the all-tournament team, is just seven kills shy of 1,000 career kills and 36 digs away from 1,000 career digs.
Against Defiance, Lortcher led the offensive attack with a match-high 13 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Allyson Smith (Macedonia/Walsh Jesuit) contributed with 10 kills. Freshman setter Kathleen Egan (Cleveland/Beaumont) ran the offense with a match-best 33 assists while freshman utility player Alexis Garrett (Mentor) had a match-high five service aces. Lortcher anchored the defense with a team-best 10 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Whitney Wallace (Salem/West Branch) tallied a career-high eight digs.
In the match with Bluffton, Smith led the offense as she hammered down a match-best and career-high 15 kills. Lortcher tallied 12 kills and senior All-OAC right side hitter Ellen Hawkins (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) added 11 kills. Egan set up the attack with a match-best 44 assists. Lortcher anchored the back line as she recorded a season-high 23 digs. Freshman libero Sarah Reinhard (Willoughby/South) dug out 16 balls and Egan contributed 12 digs.
Against Hanover, Lortcher led the offensive unit with a match-high 20 kills, which was the second time this week that she had 20 or more kills in a match. Hawkins and Garrett each added nine kills, which marked a career-best for Garrett. Egan ran the offense with a match-high 45 assists while Garrett served up three aces. Reinhard controlled the back line as she picked up a match-high 19 digs. Lortcher chipped in with 12 digs while Egan and freshman defensive specialist Jasmine Hromada (Lorain/Elyria Catholic) each contributed 10 digs.
In the match with Mount St. Joseph, Lortcher again led the attack with a match-best 23 kills while Smith added eight kills. Egan set up the offense with a match-high 39 assists. Reinhard took care of the back line with a match-best 21 digs. Lortcher tallied 16 digs while Hromada added 13 digs.
BW is back in action on Monday, September 25 when it travels to Steubenville for a non-conference match against Franciscan University on Kuzma Court at 7 p.m.
