Mound Westonka senior Kendal Richie reached 1,000 digs on Sept. 26 at the homecoming game against Holy Family. Richie is the first player in program history to reach this milestone and did it on her first dig of the night. The student section erupted in cheers, waving 1,000 signs from the stands.
Other notable stats were six aces: two from Ashtyn Cupp, two from Richie, and one each from Meaghan Kreiser and Avery Pearson. It was a tight game, with both teams taking turns in the lead. Cupp had a run of eight serves in the third set to bring the White Hawks from a 17-23 deficit to get the set win of 25-23.
Junior Mia Weaver and Richie were putting up a strong defense, with both players having a serve receive rating above 2.4. This gives the setter more options when choosing a hitter.
Kreiser led the offense with 18 kills, followed by Weaver with 12 and senior Maquinna Peglow with seven. While reaching her 1,000th dig, Richie had 21 digs in this game, followed by sophomore Bridget Budzius with 16, and Weaver with 14. Ultimately the White Hawks would fall in five sets to Holy Family (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 9-15), taking their first conference loss.
The White Hawks ended Homecoming Week on the road in Hutchinson. They would have a strong showing, winning in straight sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-20). Sophomore Maria Neumann and Weaver both served at 100%. The team put down five aces from Kreiser and Budzius at two each, and Richie with one.
Weaver led the offense with 14 kills, followed by Kreiser with 12, Budzius with eight, and junior Taryn Peglow with four. Hutchinson was having a tough time getting around the block with eight total blocks. Taryn Peglow and Mia Weaver had three blocks each, followed by Kreiser with two. Sophomore Avery Pearson had 33 assists.
Prior to Homecoming Week, the White Hawks were on the road on Sept. 21, playing in Jordan. The White Hawks had a fantastic night in serving and blocking. There were seven players who served at 100%, as well as 13 aces. Annika Weir, Weaver and Kreiser had three aces each. Two players had serve receive ratings over 2.0; Budzius at 2.5, and Weaver at 2.0. There were 38 kills, making for an exciting offensive game! Weaver led with 12, followed by Budzius and Kreiser with eight each.
Kreiser had seven blocks, stopping Jordan in their tracks. The team had a strong back row with 36 total digs. Budzius led with 11, followed by Richie with eight. Sophomore setters Avery Pearson and Ashtyn Cupp had 14 assists each. The White Hawks won in straight sets 25-12, 25-14, and 25-9.
The White Hawks' record is 14-3. Their next home game is against Southwest Christian on Thursday, Oct. 5.
