RIPON, Wis. – There will be a new champion crowed as St. Norbert plays host to the 2011 Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament on November 4-5, 2011 in De Pere, Wis. Beloit was the 2010 MWC Tournament winner but failed to make the post season which leaves a NCAA Tournament berth open to four teams.
St. Norbert won its 12th MWC Championship while Monmouth, Lake Forest and Grinnell round out the tournament field. Second seed Monmouth takes on third seed Lake Forest at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday before top seed St. Norbert hosts fourth seed Grinnell at 7:00 p.m. The winners of the semifinal matches will meet on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to determine who takes home the MWC Tournament title.
Earlier this season Monmouth defeated Lake Forest 3-1 on September 24 while St. Norbert earned a clean sweep in an October 1st win over Grinnell.
St. Norbert claimed its third MWC Championship in the last four years and will now host the 2011 MWC Tournament after an impressive regular season. The Green Knights finished in the top three of every major statistical category including first overall in team hitting percentage (.265), blocks (2.24/set) and digs (20.72/set). Heidi Spies leads the conference with a .385 hitting percentage only committing 37 errors in 330 total attempts. Danielle Remy is right behind Spies with a .377 hitting percentage, also ranking at the top of the league in blocks (135) and fifth in kills per set (2.79). Breanne Brocker also had a solid year averaging 2.53 kills per set with a .311 hitting percentage. Catherine Guido tops all defensive players with 6.97 digs per set while setter Abby West is averaging 7.92 assists per set for the Green Knights. St. Norbert only lost two sets in conference play this season and had 18 three set sweeps overall.
Monmouth qualified for the MWC Tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 7-2 record in the conference. Chelsey Widdop headlines the Fighting Scots team with 310 total kills and a 3.13 kills per set to rank her third overall in the MWC. Claire Hermie boasts a .194 hitting percentage while averaging 1.79 kills per set to strengthen the Monmouth attack. Defensively Monmouth ranks fourth in the league with 18.46 digs per set led by Widdop who averages 4.06 digs per set. The Fighting Scots have six other players with 150 or more digs with Megan Creen (3.61 digs per set) and Mollie Murdock (210 digs) also leading the way. Murdock also is fifth in the conference with 7.93 assists per set and had 19 services aces during the regular season.
Lake Forest earned a trip to the MWC Tournament on the final weekend of play and will compete for the sixth tournament championship in school history. The Foresters have one of the most potent offenses in the league, leading the MWC in kills per set (11.70) and assists per set (10.86) while also holding a .176 hitting percentage, good for second overall. Cory Cooper is tops in the conference in kills per set (3.96) and is hitting at a .229 clip (sixth in MWC) and also ranks in the top 10 in service aces with 29. Tia Rupnik is fifth with 4.90 digs per set while also having the most service aces (33) in the conference. Molly McCloskey is averaging 3.82 kills per set and averages 3.21 digs per set as one of five Foresters with 200 or more total digs. Tori Drasler leads the team with 5.41 assists per set while teammate Torie Pasiewicz averages 3.69 assists per set.
Grinnell enters the MWC Tournament as the fourth seed and won five of its last six conference contests to qualify for the postseason. Michelle Briggs leads a Pioneers team that averages 10.15 kills per set by contributing 2.41 kills per set and .197 hitting percentage. Briggs is also second in the conference in blocks as she averages 1.06 per set, which includes 32 solo blocks. Claire Weidman (2.12 kills per set) and Bonnie Kircher (1.99 kills per set) will compliment Briggs offensively while Weidman is so fourth on the team with 160 digs. Kate Duran leads the team with a 3.36 digs per set average with Lindsay Fujimoto (198 digs) and Olivia Wilks (201 digs) also contributing on the defensive effort. Along with her defensive presents Wilks also serves as the team’s setter, finishing fourth in the league at 8.14 assists per set.
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[2011 Statistics]
[2011 Performers of the Week]