Box Score Jackson, Mich. – The visiting Raiders, ranked 7th in the latest NJCAA poll, won their 10th match in row, sweeping the Jets Tuesday night. GRCC improves to 20-2 overall and maintain control of the western conference with a 13-1 record. Jackson College falls to 9-14 (5-9) and stay at 6th place in the standings. Set scores: 25-14, 25-15, 25-19.
The Raiders who were without Head Coach, Chip Will, who was under the weather, wasted no time as they got out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back in the opening set. They closed the set on a 9-3 run to win It 25-14. 20 of those points were earned, on 18 kills and two aces. Outsides Kendra DeJonge (Rockford, MI) and Dani Johnston (Comstock Park, MI) combined for half of the kills and added 10 digs. As a team the Raiders hit a solid .325.
The second set was nearly a mirror of the first set. Seven different Raiders tallied at least one kill as they had 15 total and hit .333. They also added two aces, one by Autumn Severn (New Lothrup, MI) and another by Freshman DS, Mykayla Vallad (Rockford, MI). Sarah Baxter (Grand Rapids, MI) hit .500, Bre Wickerink (Lake Odessa, MI) hit .600, and DeJonge led the way with four kills and five digs.
The streaking Raiders got contributions from 13 of the 16 dressed players in the final set and pulled off the sweep with a 25-19 win. Despite a match high five serving errors in the set, the Raiders offense stayed on fire, racking up 12 more kills against just two errors. Their blocking shined as well, with six total, including three from Baxter and two each from Wickerink and Lauren Jonker (Grand Haven, MI). This time it was Libero, Kelsie Schultz (Fruitport, MI), who led the defense with seven digs.
As a team, the Raiders finished the match hitting .297 with 45 kills against just 10 errors. They were aced just once and had just one blocking error and zero ball handling errors. DeJonge added to her double-double list with 12 kills and a team high 17 digs. Johnston and Jonker had eight kills each and Baxter added five kills and three blocks. Schultz finished with 14 digs, while Freshman setter, Jamie Wellet (Coldwater, MI) added 11 digs to go with her 14 assists.
The Raiders will continue their busy week with Sophomore night on Thursday, October 18 as they play host to the Kalamazoo Valley Cougars whom they beat in their first meeting 3-0. It will also be the Raiders annual "Dig Pink" (Breast Cancer Awareness) match. The following two days they will take part in the Lincoln Land Invite where they will play the 2nd ranked Parkland College Cobras as well as three other elite programs.
Game Notes:
-It was the 17th sweep in the past 11 seasons over Jackson College.
-The Raiders in the "Chip Will" era (12 seasons) are now 25-1 against Jackson, including winners of 18 in a row!
-The 20th win, marks the 11th time in the past 12 season they have hit that plateau. They are on pace for 30 wins, which hasn't happened since 2013 when they went 33-8.
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