SHERMAN, Tex. – The Yellowjacket volleyball team entered the final day of its opening tournament in Texas Saturday, taking on tournament-host Austin College and Nebraska Wesleyan. Friday's action began with the 'Jackets defeating McMurry in five sets before sweeping Shenandoah.
 
Saturday's matches saw UWS go up by two sets, but the Kangaroos came from behind to even things up in the fourth set. Coming down to the wire, the teams exchanged blows, but the Yellowjackets came out on top, downing Austin 3-2.
 
The fourth and final match for UW-Superior came in a familiar opponent, the Prairie Wolves of Nebraska Wesleyan. Featured by a back-and-forth first set that UWS won 32-30, the Yellowjackets ended their trip to the Lone Star State on a high note, downing NWU 3-1 and moving to 4-0 on the season.
 
Match One

• UWS leaped to an early 5-0 lead, with kills from Ayla Oltmanns (Gilbert, Minn./Duluth East), Maiana Stark (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) and Sydney Smith (Milltown, Wis./Unity), along with a service ace from Makenna Hohbein (Holdingford, Minn./Holdingford).
• The Yellowjackets continued to take control early before Austin began to claw back. After capitalizing on a few miscues, the Kangaroos came within six points at 15-9. Both teams exchanged points, however UWS maintained its lead throughout.
• Stark, Smith and Hohbein came up with kills late in the set, securing a 25-17 win.
• Set number two saw Austin College lead 7-4, but Marena Saeger (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) and Addy Gangl (Nashwauk, Minn./Nashwauk-Keewatin) helped shorten the gap. The Kangaroos held onto a short lead towards the end of the set until Gangl finished a kill from Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool), knotting things up at 19-19. Teams traded blows until Saeger and Hohbein shut the door, earning the 25-23 win.
• The third set featured the Yellowjackets and Kangaroos exchange points and the lead throughout. Oltmanns led off with a kill, who was followed by Smith, Saeger and Stark. AC managed to close the gap before taking a brief lead at 14-12. Gangl took a feed from Gabi Schwirtz (Plato, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) before Stark carded a service ace and two Kangaroo miscues gave UWS the lead.
• Austin College picked itself up, though, maintaining a lead towards the end of the set and coming out on top 25-22.
• UW-Superior fell early in the fourth but capitalized on Kangaroo miscues for four-straight points with kills from Stark, Gangl, and a service ace from Schwirtz. The 'Jackets traded the lead throughout, with both teams picking up kills and service aces midway through. Sitting at 20-20, AC utilized Yellowjacket attack errors to its advantage, building momentum and taking the fourth 25-22.
• The fifth and final set began just like the other four sets, with teams trading blows back and forth. UWS took advantage of attack errors and managed to build an 8-4 advantage, with Oltmanns, Gangl and Stark leading the charge. The Kangaroos came within a point at 11-10, but Oltmanns accounted for the final four points the Yellowjackets needed for a 15-11 victory. She finished with an attack percentage of .425 and a team-leading 18 kills, with Gangl (15) and Stark (14) following.
• Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) was responsible for a team-leading 26 digs, with Stark (23), Hohbein (16), Schwirtz (14) and Claude (13) succeeding.

 
Match Two

• The opening set saw NWU take an early 6-1 lead. Oltmanns and Stark helped cut the deficit, but the Prairie Wolves picked up steam and took an 18-12 lead.
• Hohbein, Gangl and Smith each contributed to get within four at 21-17. Nebraska Wesleyan came to its set point, but the Yellowjackets got kills from Saeger and Stark, along with a Schwirtz service ace to take a 25-24 edge. Teams traded kills and attack errors until Oltmanns tallied a kill at 31-30 before a Prairie Wolf miscue gave UWS the opening set victory at 32-30.
• NWU once again took an early lead at 4-1, but the Yellowjackets responded with points from Gangl and Stark. The Prairie Wolves scored four straight points, but UWS followed with three straight points of its own to sit at 10-10. Both squads maintained the logjam until UWS went on an eight-point rally to take set number two 25-19.
• The Yellowjackets took charge early on in the third, coming out with a 9-7 lead. A combination of attack errors and service aces helped NWU to a five-point rally, setting the tone for the rest of the set. UWS saw kills from Gangl and Oltmanns, but the Prairie Wolves powered through to a 25-17 set victory.
• Set number four commenced with Nebraska Wesleyan taking a 6-3 lead. Teams traded points until Hohbein was set by Schwirtz to even things up at 11-11. Five consecutive points for the 'Jackets helped propel themselves through the remainder of the set, as Gangl and Stark shined to give the Yellowjackets a 25-16 victory, resulting in four-straight match victories.
• Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) led with 22 digs while Hohbein shadowed with 20 scoops of her own.
• Four Yellowjackets finished with double-digit kills, including Hohbein, Stark, Oltmanns and Gangl.
• Stark led with 17.5 points, while Gangl (13.5), Oltmanns (13), Smith and Hohbein (10.5) followed.

For her efforts on the weekend, Oltmanns was tabbed to the University of Dallas/Austin College Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
The Yellowjackets are set to host the Subway Stinger Classic Sept. 6-7 inside Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. Their first opponents will be Marian and Mary Hardin-Baylor Friday at 3 and 7 p.m., respectively.
  Read Full Article