#RV Braves Travel to Columbia to Play #1 Missouri Baptist and #RV Columbia

Ottawa finished the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic with a record of 3-1 with two victories over NAIA Top 25 Teams. The Braves defeated Valley City State 3-0, (20) Carroll 3-1, (18) Taylor 3-2) and was defeated 3-0 by Indiana Tech.

The Braves finished the four matches last weekend with 177 kills, a .205 attacking percentage, 165 assists, 24 service aces, 249 digs, and 28 team blocks.

Because of their efforts last weekend Radaisy Valdez and Kaitlyn Haller were named KCAC Attacker and Setter of the Week for the second straight week. Valdez had 52 kills, a .406 attacking percentage, and 13 blocks. Haller finished with 84 assists, seven service aces, 38 digs, seven blocks, 23 kills, and a .300 attacking percentage.

In OU’s 3-2 victory over Taylor last Friday night, Kaitlyn Haller became just the third OU women’s volleyball player to record a triple double. She had 14 kills, a .351 attacking percentage, 31 assists, and 11 digs.

Through nine matches, Ottawa is averaging 11.2 kills per set, 10.7 assists per set, 2.1 blocks per set, 1.3 service aces per set, and 17.2 digs per set. The Braves have a .162 attacking percentage.

Ottawa is ranked 47th in the NAIA in digs per set (17.2), 41st in block assists (108), 41st in total blocks (74), and 31st in blocks per set (2.1).

The Braves are 3-3 this season against teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25. (8) Northwestern L, 0-3, (12) Eastern Oregon L, 1-3, (21) Grand View W, 3-1, (20) Carroll W, 3-1, (18) Taylor W, 3-2.

OU is led in kills per set (3.37) by Radaisy Valdez, Kaitlyn Haller is OU’s leader in assists per set (5.43), Kennedi Wyricks leads the team in assists per set (0.47), Jadore Hayes is OU’s leader in digs per set (4.7), and Valdez leads the Braves in blocks per set (0.9).

Friday is the seventh meeting between Ottawa and Columbia. The Cougars lead the series, 4-2 and are on a four match winning streak against the Braves. CC won the last meeting on Aug. 28, 2021 3-2; 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 13-15.  The first meeting between the two teams took place on Sept. 14, 1990. Ottawa won the match 2-1; 14-16, 15-13, 15-7.

The match with no. 1 Missouri Baptist is the ninth meeting between the two teams. MBU leads the series, 7-1. Ottawa’s victory over the Spartans came in Wilson Field House on March 22, 2021. The Braves defeated then no. 5 MBU 3-0; 31-29, 25-16, 25-18. Missouri Baptist won the last match on Sept. 24, 2021 3-0; 25-18, 26-24, 25-15. The first meeting happened on Dec. 1, 2015 at the NAIA Final Site. Missouri Baptist won the match 3-1; 19-25, 16-25, 27-25, 22-25.

Columbia College is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll. The Cougars are 2-7 overall and have lost two straight matches. CC is averaging 12.9 kills per set, 12.1 assists per set, 1.6 blocks per set, 1.2 service aces per set, and 19.1 digs per set. Columbia has a .170 attacking percentage. The Cougars are ranked 38th in the NAIA in kills (491), 24th in kills per set (12.9), 43rd in errors (232), 29th in total attacks (1,525), 37th in assists (460), 27th in assists per set (12.1), 19th in digs (726), eighth in digs per set (19.1),

Missouri Baptist University is ranked no. 1 in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Spartans have a record of 8-1 and have won two straight matches. MBU’s only loss on the season was to Midland University on Aug. 26, 3-0. The Spartans are averaging 13.6 kills per set, 12.7 assists per set, 1.9 blocks per set, 1.9 service aces per set, and 16.4 digs per set. Missouri Baptist has a .257 attacking percentage.

MBU is ranked sixth in the NAIA in kills per set (13.6), ninth in attacking percentage (.257), 10th in assists per set (12.7), 25th in service errors (89), and 44th in ball handling errors (10).