By KYANA AGUILERA

The Beloit College Volleyball team won back-to-back games after sweeping the Maranatha Baptist University Sabercats on Tuesday, October 29. The Buccaneers (4-18, 0-5 MWC) swept the Sabercats (2-24), 25-11, 25-17, 25-23. In the first set, both teams traded points back and forth before going on an eight point lead and eventually winning the set 25-11. The Sabercats kept the second set closer but Beloit capitalized on Maranatha’s mistakes to finish the second set. Maranatha made the third and final set the closest, pushing the Bucs until the end before losing 23-25. The Bucs’ offense was led by Kierra Rayne Hoover (Albuquerque, New Mexico) with eight kills, Camille Ledoux (Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada) finished just behind her with six kills and two service aces, McKayla Simao (Sparta, Wis.) registered four kills, and a team-high ten digs. 

The Buccaneers played the Lawrence Vikings on Friday, November 1, for senior night. The Vikings swept the Buccaneers 26-24, 25-14, and 25-15. In the first set, one Beloit senior, McKayla Simao’25 (Sparta, Wis.), started Beloit off strong with an ace. Lawrence had lots of hitting errors, placing the ball right into the net. However, there were also lots of open spaces on Beloit’s defense which eventually led to the first loss. In the second set, there seemed to be a loss of energy after being disappointed from the first loss. But then they got their heads up and had a couple of memorable plays. 

The first being Kaci Watanabe (Wahiawa, Hawaii) with a great serve causing Lawrence to pass the ball right to the net allowing our freshman setter Selin Tufte (Clarkdale, AZ) to end the volley quickly with a kill. Another great play was Camille Ledoux (Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada) serving to deep back corner with Kierra Rayne Hoover (Albuquerque, New Mexico) finishing them with an amazing block. Sadly, there were too many hitting errors and not enough energy, leading to a loss. And in the final set, the Buccaneers came back with a whole new energy and put up a fight for their seniors. There were three senior plays including a perfect pass from Siddalee Meyers (Orfordville, Wis), an assist from Camille Ledoux (Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada), and a finishing kill from McKayla Simao (Sparta, Wis.). Another great play from our Buccaneers was from Aileen Garcia’s (Los Angeles, CA) short serve leading to Naomi Murphy (Dubuque, IA) winning a blocking battle between the middle hitters. And finally, Kaci Watanabe (Wahiawa, Hawaii) and McKayla Simao (Sparta, Wis.) worked together to get a double save out of the net to continue the volley. 

Although there were lots of great plays and a great fight put up from our seniors, the match ended in a devastating loss. However, I would just like to thank our five seniors, Camille Ledoux, Maka Simao, Kaci Watanabe, Jasmin Bowers, and Siddalee Meyers for dedicating four years of their lives to Beloit College volleyball. Congratulations on a season with many great strides! You all have made such a wonderful impact on this team and you will be missed. Go Bucs!

To end the busy week, the team (4-20, 0-7 MWC) played Ripon College (9-16, 1-6 MWC), and lost all three sets 6-25, 15-25, 12-25. The Bucs’ offense was led by Kierra Rayne Hoover (Albuquerque, New Mexico) again with five kills, Camille Ledoux (Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada) finished behind her with three kills, and Naomi Murphy (Dubuque, Iowa.) secured two kills. Our defense was led by McKayla Simao (Sparta, Wis.) once again beating the team-high with 17 digs and Kaci Watanabe (Wahiawa, Hawaii) with 9 digs. 

The Buccaneers continue through the Midwest Conference with their last game of the season on Saturday, November 9, hosting Illinois College. 

Featured Image: Beloit College