Only three teams remain undefeated in SLIAC volleyball play this season and two of them will meet in this week's SLIAC Game of the Week. Spalding University will travel to Greenville, Illinois to face Greenville University on Tuesday night with both teams riding a multiple-match win streak into this week.
Overall Record: 4-8
SLIAC Record: 3-0
First-year head coach Taryn Glass has the Golden Eagles off to a fast start this fall, as they have a league best three conference wins. They are hitting .108 as a team and average 9.78 kills per set. They rank 2nd in the league with 91 aces and average 15.43 digs and 0.91 blocks per set this season. Spalding has won three straight matches including sweeps of Principia and Eureka sandwiched around a win over Westminster. That win was the Golden Eagles' first over the Blue Jays since 2016, a stretch of 11 matches.
Jayda Branch, last year's SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, continues to be the offensive focus. She leads the team with 143 kills, averaging 3.11 per set. She is also tops in aces (16) and digs (141) while ranking second in blocks (13). Behind her is freshman Kaylee Baker with 66 kills. Freshman middle hitter Abigail Ratts has 50 kills and a team-high 23 blocks while Halle Calbert, another freshman, is hitting .230 with 37 kills and 15 aces. Brianna Terpening is averaging 3.24 digs per set while Ella Clark leads the team with 5.43 assists per set.
Overall Record: 6-5
SLIAC Record: 2-0
The Panthers notched back-to-back conference wins on Saturday to start SLIAC play. They are hitting .150 as a team this fall and lead the league at 11.65 kills per set. They are averaging 17.65 digs per set and lead the conference with 1.82 blocks per set while also tallying 49 aces. Including postseason play, Greenville has won 25 straight matches against conference opponents with their last loss coming back on March 10, 2021.
Mia Bonacorsi and Sacorra Patton pace the offensive attack with both having already topped triple digits in kills. Bonacorsi has 120 kills while Patton is at 101. Both players also have over 100 digs this season. A pair of freshmen in Mia de Jesus and Lainey Hicks are options in the middle with each topping 50 kills and 30 blocks this season. Chasity Hill is second in the league at 5.03 digs per set while Kaitlin Murray leads the team with 5.20 assists per set and 10 aces.
The Series: Greenville is up 19-7 in the series history against Spalding, having won 13 straight matches. The last Golden Eagle victory in the series came in the 2014 season when they knocked off the top-seeded Panthers in the semifinals of the conference tournament 3-2.