DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (6-7 overall, 4-2 GLIAC) will conclude the first half of its 16-match league schedule this week. The Warriors will travel to Purdue Northwest on Friday for a 7 p.m. eastern start before facing off against Parkside on Saturday at 3 p.m. eastern. Both matches will be played in the central time zone.
"Important road weekend for the Warriors," said head coach
Tim Koth. "We play two very good teams who always seem to play their best against us. We will have to be ready, and look forward to the challenge."
About Last Week
Wayne State came back home for a rare Thursday-Friday back-to-back against the likes of No. 16 Grand Valley State and new league member Roosevelt, respectively. Starting with GVSU, WSU led the match two sets to none and was ahead 19-18 in the third set. However, the Lakers proceeded to outscore the Warriors 7-3 the rest of that period before winning the fourth and fifth stanzas as well. With that, Wayne State has dropped three in a row against Grand Valley State for the first time since 2016. WSU bounced back nicely against RU the next night though taking care of those Lakers in straight sets. The Warriors hit .330 in the process, their second-best hitting percentage of the season behind .363 against Davenport on Sept. 20.
GLIAC Setter of the Week
Sophomore
Kayla Dulgar (Warsaw, Ohio / River View) was named GLIAC Setter of the Week for the third time in her career and first time this season on Monday afternoon, as announced by the league. The most-recent honor comes after Dulgar racked up 88 assists and 11 assists per set in Wayne State's two matches last week. On Thursday night in the five-set loss to No. 16 Grand Valley State, the sophomore racked up a personal best 57 assists to go with 21 digs for her fifth double-double of the fall. Then on Friday evening's sweep of Roosevelt, the 5-7 Warrior accounted for 31 assists and seven digs. Dulgar's other totals for the two outings included four kills, two total blocks and a service ace.
Leading the Way
The Warriors' offensive attack has featured a three-headed dragon in
Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.),
Molly Miller (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford [Madonna]) and Dulgar. Giroux is first in the GLIAC and 11th nationally for hitting percentage (.426), Miller is tied-for-third in the league for kills (194) and Dulgar is third in the conference for assists (487). Not to mention that Giroux has racked up 194 kills to just 87 errors on her 461 total attacks. Defensively,
Kendyl Andrews' (Flushing, Mich.) 176 digs and Giroux's 63 total blocks (first in the GLIAC and 34th in Division II) are at the top for Wayne State. Also among the country's leaders, Miller is 46th in kills per set (3.80), 48th in points per set (4.27) and 50th in total kills.
Scouting Purdue Northwest (3-10 overall, 1-5 GLIAC)
Purdue Northwest is coached by third-year man Sean Douglas (25-47 overall). This season, Douglas' statistical leaders have included Arra Cottrell (152 kills), Olivia Brooke (215 assists, 16 service aces), Livia Thomsen (185 digs) and Kennedy Rowzee (41 total blocks). In the all-time series, the Warriors have defeated the Pride for 11 of the 13 meetings, but both of Wayne State's losses came last season.
Scouting Parkside (7-7 overall, 3-3 GLIAC)
Wayne State will head to Kenosha, Wis. for the second time this season as it competed in Parkside's Hampton Inn Invitational on Sept. 13-14 going 1-3 in the event. The Rangers are coached by seventh-year head coach Leigh Barea (69-109 overall), named an AVCA Thirty Under 30 Coach in 2020. This fall, Barea has turned to Sam Fisch (194 kills), Karlee Lois (423 assists), Marisa Lootens (23 aces), Natalie Harris (248 digs) and Mariena Coon (34 blocks). Schedule wise, UWP has dropped two matches in a row snapping a three-match winning streak.
