Western Courier

Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Sports

Sophomore hitter Brooke Stittleburg has accumulated 92 kills and 46 assists this year. Mike Jagodzinski/courier staff

The Leatherneck volleyball team is currently on a six-game slump as they hit the road to face Oral Roberts and Centenary this weekend.

Western (8-17, 4-9) travels to Tulsa, Okla., on Friday to play Oral Roberts (9-11, 5-6) and later Centenary (4-18, 0-11) at Shreveport, La., Saturday.

The 'Necks lost both their home matches last weekend to conference opponents North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Western lost both contests 3-1.

The 'Necks have struggled on the road this season, dropping eight out of 12 road games this season, but they face conference opponents who do not have winning records.

Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts has had their share of troubles as of late coming into Friday's match, losing three of their last four.

The Golden Eagles have historically played well at home, posting a 63-17 (.788) mark inside the Aerobics Center under head coach Sheera Sirola in seven seasons.

Oral Roberts has been dominant at home against the Summit League in regular-season play since 2003, posting a mark of 33-5 (.868), including 131 sets won and only 31 lost.

The Golden Eagles are led in most categories by sophomore Serena Cate. She leads the team in kills (192), kills per set (2.91) and is second in serving aces (17).

Centenary

Centenary has struggled this season, winless in The Summit League. Centenary comes into Saturday's match losing eight of their last 10 matches.

In their last match, Centenary fell against Oakland. Errors were the ultimate downfall of the Ladies.

As a team, Centenary tallied just 24 kills to Oakland's 46. Sophomore setter Jaclyn Lopez had a team-high 23 assists on the match, while freshman Mackenzie Hubbard picked up 10 digs in Centenary's 26-dig effort to Oakland's 35.

Head coach Kym McKay believes her squad must limit mistakes if her team is to succeed the remainder of the season.

"I think we're going to take some time this week and go back to the basics, focus on the details," McKay said. "It's just the little things we did earlier that made us successful we aren't doing now."

After this weekend's matches, Western hosts Oakland Friday, Nov. 6 and IPFW Saturday, Nov. 7 inside Brophy Hall as The Summit League Tournament approaches Nov. 20-21.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools