PERRYSBURG, Ohio — The 13th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team got its first taste of the road on Friday and Saturday, splitting its four matches at the Owens Express Invitational.

The Red Hawks dropped both of their Friday matches against No. 2 ranked Parkland (Ill.) and St. Clair Community College (Mich.) before bouncing back with two wins on Saturday against Division I Vincennes University (Ind.) and Glen Oaks Community College (Mich.).

"I am so proud of how the team came together this weekend, especially Saturday," said Catawba Valley head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson. "We faced a really tough opponent in Parkland for our first match, and it was a struggle to come back from it against St. Clair on Friday afternoon, but we regrouped and learned a lot about ourselves during those two tough losses. We fought in two competitive five-set matches Saturday, and it was great to come out with two wins — one against DI opponent Vincennes. The girls gained confidence in each other and started playing more aggressively as the tournament went on. I'm thankful for this group of young ladies and their hard work so far this season."

Below are the results of the Red Hawks' four tournament matches:

No. 2 Parkland 3, No. 13 Catawba Valley 0

The Red Hawks were handed their first defeat of the 2018 season on Friday morning, falling in straight sets to the second-ranked Cobras.

Set scores were 21-25, 14-25 and 12-25.

Siena Naotala paced Catawba Valley with four kills in the match, while Sage Harrington added three kills. Defensively, sophomore libero Emily Williams made 17 digs.

St. Clair County Community College 3, No. 13 Catawba Valley 1

Despite winning the first set, the Red Hawks dropped the final three sets to the Skippers in a four-set loss on Friday afternoon.

Set scores were 21-25, 27-25, 25-21 and 25-22.

Freshman Rachel Delcamp tallied a team-high nine kills and added 13 digs defensively for the Red Hawks, while teammates Sage Harrington and Karsyn Mundy made six kills each.

Sophomore Emily Williams made a team-high 19 digs in the match.

No. 13 Catawba Valley 3, Vincennes University 2

The Red Hawks started the second day of the Express Invitational by earning a hard-fought five-set victory against the Trailblazers on Saturday.

Set scores were 25-23, 27-29, 19-25, 25-16 and 15-9.

Freshman Siena Naotala registered 15 kills in the match, and fellow freshmen Rachel Delcamp and Sage Harrington added 10 kills apiece.

Emily Williams continued her hot play from the libero position, tallying 34 digs.

No. 13 Catawba Valley 3, Glen Oaks Community College 2

Rallying from down 0-2 in the match, the CVCC volleyball team closed out its fifth-straight appearance in the Owens Invitational with a victory in five sets against the Vikings.

Set scores were 24-26, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22 and 19-17.

Freshmen Rachel Delcamp (12 kills) and Siena Naotala (11 kills) led the attack for the Red Hawks, while sophomore Emily Williams made a team-best 38 digs.


The Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team returns to action Wednesday afternoon with a road contest at USC Salkehatchie. Match time is set for 4:30 p.m.