DAVENPORT – Coming back from behind twice in two days, the Iowa Wesleyan College volleyball team opened its 2009 season with a solid 3-1 mark at the St. Ambrose University Early Bird Invitational this weekend.
The Tigers won a pair of five-set matches and added a 3-0 sweep for a third win, in all tying two other teams for second in the tourney. Upper Iowa University was the only team to finish with a perfect 4-0 mark in the two-day invitational that opened on Friday.
IWC started the tourney by coming from two sets down to defeat Midland Lutheran (Neb.) College. The Tigers lost by scores of 25-19 and 25-20 before pulling out the next two sets by identical scores of 25-22. Wesleyan then won the tiebreaker 15-11. Megan McVey (So.-Fort Worth, Texas) had 15 kills while Katie Jammer (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis.) had nine kills and a team-high 37 digs.
The Tigers had their worst showing of the invite in their second match on Friday, as the University of St. Francis (Ill.) dominated for a 25-18, 25-4, 25-17 win. McVey had seven kills and Jammer led the team with 28 digs.
Wesleyan passed another test Saturday morning, coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the match to defeat Trinity Christian (Ill.) College in five sets, 25-21, 25-27, 25-27, 25-20, 15-13. McVey had a career-high 19 kills and Katie Leidl (Sr.-Esterhazy, Saskatchewan) set a school single-match record with 46 digs. McVey and Jammer both added 39 digs and Kendra Zimmerman (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis.) had 49 assists.
IWC finished Saturday with a three-set sweep of Robert Morris (Ill.) College, winning by scores of 25-19, 25-10 and 25-22. McVey again led the team with nine kills and added 20 digs. Jammer led the team again with 23 digs, while Allegra Tennis (Jr.-Madison, Wis.) added seven kills.
McVey finished with 50 kills in the tourney and added 99 digs. Jammer also had 24 kills and a team-leading 127 digs and was named to the all-tournament team. Zimmerman set the offense with 137 assists and Tennis led the team with 15 blocks, 11 solo.
Wesleyan takes to the road for tournament play again next weekend, playing in the University of Sioux Falls Empire Bowl Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Tigers open the two-day tourney on Friday against Kansas Wesleyan University at 4 p.m.
For more information regarding the IWC volleyball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
