WICHITA – The Newman volleyball team ran its winning streak to seven straight with a dominating 3-0 win over St. Edward's on Thursday (Sept. 24) at Fugate Gymnasium. With the Heartland Conference victory, the Jets moved to 9-4 on the season and 3-1 in the Heartland Conference. The seven match winning streak matches longest in NU NCAA Division II history.
The Jets were never challenged, winning the sets by the scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-21.
Senior middle hitter
Ashley Gonzalez, who was named the Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week on Monday, put together an impressive match, totaling a match-high 20 kills, five blocks and two aces. She finished with a match-high .444 hitting percentage. In the first set, Gonzalez totaled eight kills and hit .538. She added eight kills again in the final set, including five of the first eight NU points.
Kayla Turner added 10 kills with only one error to hit .333. Senior setter
Alexus Litts, who was named the Heartland Conference Setter of the Week on Monday, tallied 38 assists on 45 NU kills.
Gaylynn Jones dug up a match-high 16 digs and added seven kills. She hit .333.
For the match, NU hit .352, its second-best hitting percentage of the season. The Jets hit .377 in a 3-0 win over Bacone College in their home opener on Sept. 8. In the first set, NU hit a match-best .410 with 19 kills. In the final set, the Jets tallied 20 kills with a .364 hitting percentage. NU finished with 49 kills and 11 errors on 108 attempts.
The Hilltoppers finished hitting .108. They registered 25 kills and 14 errors on 102 attempts. Mikayla Grill had a team-high six kills, playing the final two sets. Julia Hartley tallied 11 kills, and Morgan Beckham totaled 11 digs.
NU won seven straight matches in 2013. The Jets started with a 3-2 win over McMurry on Sept. 28 then defeated Texas A&M International, St. Mary's, Southwestern College, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Panhandle State and Cameron. The streak went from Sept. 28 to Oct. 15.
The Jets play twice on Saturday (Sept. 26). The day starts with a 12 p.m. match against Heartland Conference foe Dallas Baptist, and NU plays a nonconference contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. Both matches are at Fugate Gymnasium. Live stats and video will be available.
