DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (10-5, 4-3 GLIAC) has won three in a row with all three being sweeps. WSU will conclude its home stand against Davenport (12-4, 5-2 GLIAC) on Friday night before welcoming Parkside (7-8, 2-5 GLIAC) to the Matthaei on Saturday afternoon.
COACH KOTH
The 2021 GLIAC Coach of the Year, Tim Koth collected his 400th win as a women's volleyball coach earlier this season. The 2022 season is his 28th in collegiate coaching and ninth at Wayne State.
LAST TIME OUT
WSU swept both Lake Superior State and Grand Valley State this past week.
ANOTHER MILESTONE
Kamryn Duffield became the fourth Warrior ever to record 4,000 career assists. Recently, she moved into second place all-time in assists passing Cydney Biessel (4,089) and Amy Horgan (4,097) on Sunday. Duffield currently has 4,246 career assists, which is a modern program record. The program record belongs to Tracy Granger (1992-95) who recorded 5,136 helpers prior to the rally scoring era.
AWARD WINNERS
After the season-opening week of action, graduate outside hitter Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.) earned Offensive Player of the Week accolades, while senior libero Maddy Benoit (Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week. VanderWal totaled 60 kills (4.93/set), hit .280 and collected a pair of double-doubles in the four matches in Indianapolis. In a 3-0 sweep, she posted 18 kills and hit .500 for the match and notched 18 kills plus 16 digs in the five-set win over McKendree. VanderWal also tallied nine total blocks en route to collecting her third career weekly GLIAC honor. Benoit surpassed 1,000 career digs in the three-set win over Montevallo in the season opener. She totaled 86 digs (6.14/set) and 10 services aces. Benoit notched 26 digs vs. Anderson before finishing the tournament with 28 digs in the win over McKendree.
Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) and Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) earned GLIAC Player of the Week honors after leading Wayne State to three wins, all sweeps, this past week. Duffield was named Setter of the Week, while Giroux was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week.
Duffield totaled 105 assists (11.67/set) and also had 24 digs (2/67/set). Duffield had 33 assists on Tuesday vs. Saginaw Valley State and followed that with 36 helpers on Friday against Lake Superior State. On Saturday, WSU swept Grand Valley State behind Duffield's 36 assists and 10 digs.
Giroux was effective both on offense and defense this past week. She notched nine kills, hit .389 and had three blocks on Tuesday vs. Saginaw Valley State. Against Lake Superior State, she hit .647 and tallied 11 kills and collected five blocks. Giroux finished her impressive week with five kills, four blocks and hit .385 in a sweep over Grand Valley State.
BENOIT'S MILESTONE
In the season-opening win over Montevallo, Maddy Benoit collected 24 digs to give her over 1,000 digs for her career, which ranks 10th all-time in program history.
RETURNING LEADERS
The roster will lean on 12 returners and much of of the starting lineup from last year. That group is highlighted by setter Kamryn Duffield, outside hitter Lauren VanderWal and middle blocker Halle Shell. Duffield was a First Team All-GLIAC selection in 2021 and ranks fourth all-time in assists with 3,726. She totaled 1,098 helpers last season, which is thw 10th most all-time in the school record books. Her 10.35 assists per set total for her career is third in program history.
VanderWal was also a First Team All-GLIAC honoree and also was named to the AVCA All-Midwest Regional Team. She totaled 238 kills and led WSU with 3.13 kills per set last season. Shell will continue to be a keu part of the defense efforts for the Green & Gold. She totaled 109 total blocks last season and was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection. Jenna Kray was also a 2021 First Team All-GLIAC honoree at middle blocker after she posted 228 kills and 61 total blocks. Other names to keep an eye on will be Maddy Benoit, Maddie Morrison and Alexa Withun.
NEWCOMERS
The roster welcomes three newcomers. Middle blocker Kayla Giroux should make an impact early at the net, while middle blocker Leigha Baldwin and defensive specialist Kendyl Andrews add talent and depth tot he roster.
GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
In front of the Green & Gold was Grand Valley State (68 points / four first-place votes) and Michigan Tech (66 points / three first-place votes). WSU (64 points / three first-place votes) was chosen ahead of Ferris State (62 points) and Davenport (55 points) to round out the top five. The rest of the poll includes Northern Michigan (48 points / one first-place vote), Saginaw Valley State (35 points), Parkside (26 points), Lake Superior State (17 points) and Purdue Northwest (nine points).
A HISTORIC 2021 SEASON
This past season, WSU played in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, but for the first time since 1994. The Warriors totaled 20 victories, which is the most wins since 1998. The Green & Gold swept Saginaw Valley State in a GLIAC Quarterfinal contest on Nov. 17th, the first home playoff game since 2010 for WSU.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Davenport is off to a very impressive start at 12-4 overall and 5-2 in league matches. The Panthers have wins over Michigan Tech, Wayne State, Grand Valley State and Ferris State. Head coach Brian Netzler is in his fourth season with the program. DU swept WSU on Sept. 17th in Grand Rapids. Hayley Kreiger leads the team with 265 kills (4.49/set), while Lindsay Taylor has totaled 191 kills (3.24/set). Lexie Beeke has a team-best 357 assists (6.05/set), while Nicole Odeen has tallied 186 assists (3.96/set). Kenzy Corstange anchors the defense with 293 digs (4.97/set), while Bethany Wilson is the squad's top blocker with 46 total blocks (0.78/set).
Parkside swept the Green & Gold on Sept. 16th earlier this season and coached by Leigh Barea who is in her fifth season. The Rangers have split their last six matches and sit at 7-8 overall, including a 2-5 league record. Parkside is led offensively by a trio of Rangers with at least 100 kills. Reese Rossnagel leads the roster with 169 kills (2.91/set), while Lexi Packard has 105 spikes (1.81/set) and Jazmine Neal is third on the team with 100 kill s(2.86/set). Ava Irvin needs one more kill to join that club. Karlee Louis has totaled 310 assists (5/44/set, while Elle Truckenbrod has a team-best 190 digs (3/45/set). Lindsay Krznarich is one of the top blockers int he GLIAC at 56 stuffs (0.97/set).
UP NEXT
Wayne State will be on the road for the first time since Sept. 17th as the Warriors will play at Northern Michigan on Friday and at Michigan Tech on Saturday.
