Volleyball: Hawks open season with 4-0 record at Pitt State Classic

The Rockhurst Hawks opened the 2012 season with a 4-0 record at the Pittsburg State Classic Friday and Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan. The Hawks, who only dropped two sets in their four wins, will play four matches at the Southwest Baptist Purple Bash Sept. 7-8 in Bolivar, Mo.

Sophomore middle hitter Emily Ready posted 11 kills and five blocks to lead Rockhurst to a 3-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday. Freshman middle hitter Kelsey Stratman collected 12 kills and four blocks to power the Hawks past Bemidji State, 3-0, in their final match of the weekend.

Sophomore Maggie Hummel and freshman Katie Loescher combined for 33 kills to lead Rockhurst to a 3-1 win over Harding (Ark.) in Friday’s opener. The Hawks won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-22, and rallied for a 25-23 win in the fourth set. Freshman setter Whitney Kostal added 41 assists and eight digs.

Rockhurst came back to post a 3-1 win over Missouri Southern in Friday’s second match behind the strong hitting from Hummel, Loescher, Ready and freshman Jordan Ruiz. After dropping the first set, the Hawks won three consecutive sets by the scores of 25-20, 25-10 and 25-12.

Maggie Hummel leads a squad of 10 returning letterwinners. Hummel averaged 2.20 kills and 2.49 points per set last year as the Hawks finished with a 16-15 overall record. Victoria Mahl led the Hawks with 497 digs, while Ready finished with a team-high 113 blocks.

The Hawks, who were picked to finish third in the GLVC West Division, open conference action at Drury on Sept. 14.