OWENSBORO, Ky. – For the sixth time in seven seasons, the Kentucky Wesleyan College volleyball team earned a spot in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship tournament. The Panthers are slotted as the number four seed and will host the number five seed Cedarville University on Tuesday night.
The G-MAC Quarterfinal match is set to begin at 7 pm CT inside Jones Gymnasium on Tuesday, November 19. Tickets will be $7 per person including faculty and staff. Kentucky Wesleyan and Cedarville students will receive free admission with a student ID.
The last time the two teams met in the G-MAC tournament was in 2014 when Cedarville was victorious in the semifinal which was the last time the Panthers reached the semifinals. They also met in the 2013 Championship with Cedarville winning 3-0.
When the two teams met two weeks ago, the Panthers stunned the Yellow Jackets with a 3-0 sweep. It marked the third time in 12 meetings that Wesleyan took down Cedarville.
The Panthers picked up the pace in the second half of the season, winning five of their seven G-MAC matches. Of those five wins, all but one were three-set sweeps.
Senior Jaylen McEwen leads the Panthers attack with 234 kills on the season. Sierra Morrow, Danielle Brouillette and Julia Moran each have recorded over 150. Brouillette currently sits eighth in the conference after hitting .276 on the season.
Lydia Jackson paces the team with 526 assists, averaging 5.5 assists per set. Jackson will likely reach 200 digs on Tuesday, currently sitting at 195.
Nilah Roy leads the Panther defense and ranks in the Top 10 in the conference. The junior has 427 digs, ranking sixth in the G-MAC.
Wesleyan ranks second in the conference at 183 service aces on the year led by Morrow with 38. Morrow also leads the Panthers with 78 blocks.
Cedarville finished the year 8-4 in the G-MAC but haven't won back-to-back conference matches since a five-match win streak from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11. The Yellow Jackets only have two three-set conference wins on the season against Findlay and Walsh.
Liene Miller paces the offense with 420 kills on the year, averaging 4.4 kills per set and ranking second in the conference. Lauren Willow sits at 245 kills and leads the team with a .335 hitting percentage which is good for third in the G-MAC. Miller and Willow have combined for 68 service aces.
Sierra Schuitema has a team-high 899 assists on the year. No other Yellow Jacket has more than 80. Emily Ward leads the defense with 339 digs on the year followed by Miller and Sara Beste at 236 apiece.
G-MAC Quarterfinals
Tuesday, November 19 – all games 7 pm local time
Game 1 – No. 6 Trevecca at No. 3 Walsh
Game 2 – No. 7 Findlay at No. 2 Tiffin
Game 3 – No. 5 Cedarville at No. 4 Kentucky Wesleyan
Game 4 – No. 8 Malone at No. 1 Hillsdale
G-MAC Semifinals
Friday, November 22 at highest seed remaining
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
G-MAC Championship
Saturday, November 23
Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
