Yellowjackets Go Down In A Heartbreaker At Conference Tournament
March 30, 2007
Wichita, KS- Playing Newman University for the third time this season, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team was defeated in a classic five game match as the Yellowjackets were bounced in the first-round of the MAMVIC conference tournament on Friday afternoon. Essentially a home game for the tournament-hosting Jets, Newman University moves on to face the #1-seeded Park University later today.
The #4-seeded Yellowjackets and #5-seeded Jets are no stranger to classic battles as they split their regular season matches, each winning on their home floor in two tightly played contests. Today’s match featured a Graceland opening win at 30-24, followed by 27-30 and 28-30 losses. Game four pushed the Jackets to the limit but they were able to hold on 30-26 before falling 12-15 in the grueling fifth game
Leading the way up front for GU were seniors Al Dupont and Clint Torres along with sophomore Ronson Olaso. Dupont led the front-line attack with a team-high 23 kills followed by Torres with 19 and Olaso with 17 kills. Ainoa Miyashiro, GU’s junior setter and all-time assist leader, did a fine job by recording 61 assists in the match.
Olaso paced the Jackets in defensive digs as he tallied an impressive 17 digs followed by Dupont with 14 digs. Noah Casaquit and Miyashiro each contributed 12 digs.
For the Yellowjacket’s three seniors, Dupont, Torres, and Hamish MacPhee, today’s loss in the conference tournament featured their last appearances as Graceland University men’s volleyball players. Each contributed a great deal to the GU program and will be sorely missed by their teammates, coaches, and supporters of Graceland volleyball.
Men’s Volleyball Stumbles Against Highly Ranked Park
Parkville, MO- After winning five straight matches and moving up to number seven in the national coaches poll, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team has since taken a turn for the worse, dropping their last five matches including a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday evening to the likes of Park University. Ranked number two for most of the season, Park improves to 25-2 on the season and remains atop the MAMVIC western division standings while Graceland drops their record to 10-12.
Pacing the Yellowjackets efforts statistically was senior Clint Torres who tallied 10 kills in the three-game match while Dan Parish and Ronson Olaso collected eight and seven kills respectively.
Leading the passing attack was junior setter Ainoa Miyashiro with 28 assists. Olaso led Graceland with six digs in the losing effort with Clint Torres also notching five digs in the contest.
Tonight’s match wraps up the regular season for the Yellowjackets and now they prepare for the postseason conference tournament coming up at the end of the month. Newman University will play host to this years conference tournament with the seedings and matchups announced later next week. Competition for the Mid-America Men’s Volleyball Conference Championship begins Friday, March 30th and will continue on Saturday the 31st.
Stay tuned to the GU athletics website for updates on how the Jackets do in their postseason competition.
Yellowjackets Drop Road Contest to Newman University
Wichita, KS- After turning back the Newman University Jets back on February 27th with a 3-0 victory at the Closson Center, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team was unable to duplicate those results as they hit the road to take on the Jets on Saturday. The Jackets were defeated 3-1 in four tightly played games.
After just dropping the first game by a final score of 33-31, the Jackets stormed back into contention with a 30-27 game two victory and hoped to take control of the momentum and the match. The Jets wouldn’t be stopped however, as they moved forward with game victories of 32-30 and 30-25 in games three and four respectively.
GU was led by freshman Ronson Alaso, a Waialua, Hawaii native and key contributor in his first collegiate season. Alaso paced the Yellowjacket attack with 14 kills while sophomore Steve Hennings added in 11 kills. Sophomore setter Ainoa Miyashiro contributed an effective passing game by totaling 46 assists in the four-game match to aid the Jacket cause. Olaso and Noah Casaquit each chipped in seven digs to lead the Jackets defense.
With the loss to Newman, Graceland drops their overall record to 10-11 and 3-6 within the MAMVIC Western Division standings. With only one more match remaining till the Conference tournament beginning on March 30th, the Yellowjackets look to rebound in their final regular season contest versus Park University on Wednesday, March 21st. Park currently sits in first place in the conference standings and is currently ranked #2 in the national poll.
Vikings To Much For Yellowjackets in Home Finale
Lamoni, IA- Despite the support of a strong crowd and the emotion of “Senior Night” at the Closson Center, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team was unable to overcome the strong play of Missouri Valley College and was eventually defeated in three close games on Tuesday evening. A clash of two top-ten ranked teams, Missouri Valley entered the contest ranked #4 in the latest MAMVIC coaches poll while the homestanding Jackets moved up one spot to the #8 position in the rankings.
In a pre-game ceremony, three GU seniors were honored for their careers as Yellowjacket volleyball players. Hawaii natives Al Dupont and Clint Torres were joined by Australian native Hamish MacPhee as all three were honored before tonight’s game for their stellar athletic accomplishments. With the loss to Missouri Valley (27-30, 26-30, 27-30), in three highly-competitive games, Graceland drops to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the MAMVIC Western Division standings.
Leading the way at the net for GU was junior Steve Hennings with 15 kills. Continuing his strong play from over the weekend, which saw the Bettendorf, Iowa native be named to the Park University All-Tournament team, Hennings continued to provide power up front for the Jackets. Ainoa Miyashiro, GU’s junior setter, contributed 25 assists in the losing cause while freshman Noah Casaquit added 10 digs.
Having wrapped up their home season schedule, Coach Chad McDole and the Yellowjackets will hit the road for their final two regular season contests before getting ready for the Conference Tournament beginning March 30th. GU travels to Wichita, Kansas on Saturday, March 10th to take on Newman University at 2:00 p.m. The Jackets round out their regular season by traveling to #2 Park University on Tuesday, March 21st with a start time of 7:00 p.m.
Jackets Take Two at Park University Tournament
Parkville, MO- Going up against top-notch competition, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team came away with two victories over the weekend while participating in the Homewood Suites Invitational on the campus of Park University. This tournament featured some of the top teams in the nation with five of the six teams participating ranked in the top ten of the most recent AVCA national poll.Opening up play on Friday afternoon, the #9-ranked Yellowjackets would have their hands full as they eventually overtook #10-ranked Warner Southern College in a grueling five-game match. After alternating victories with the Royals (32-30, 27-30, 30-15, 27-30) in the first four games, GU eventually came away with a hard-earned victory by winning the fifth game 19-17. Pacing the Yellowjacket attack was 6’5” junior, Steve Hennings, with a team-high 22 kills followed by senior Clint Torres with 18 kills. Ainoa Miyashiro, GU’s junior setter, tallied 64 assists in the five-game match victory over WSC.
With a slight change in schedule for the tournament, GU’s next opponent would be Calumet College. The Yellowjackets would sweep Calumet by the scores of 30-28, 30-22, 30-25 en route to their second victory of the tournament. Once again, Miyashiro provided solid passing as he totaled 38 assists in the match. Up front, senior Al Dupont led GU with 17 kills followed by 13 kills for Torres. Dupont also chipped in 13 digs to lead the Yellowjacket defensive effort.
Saturday’s action featured even more stiff competition as Graceland would square off with two top-five ranked opponents. Ranked #2 in the latest national poll, Park University was able to down the #9-ranked Yellowjackets by the scores of 27-30, 22-30, 25-30. GU freshman outside-hitter Ronson Olaso collected 12 kills to lead the Yellowjackets followed by Dupont with 10 kills. The final match of the tournament saw GU take on #3-ranked Lindenwood University. The Lions would prevail on this day as Lindenwood defeated Graceland 26-30, 28-30, 23-30. Two Yellowjacket players came away with double-digit kills in the match with Hennings tallying 16 while Dupont added 13. Miyashiro handed out 38 assists in the match versus Lindenwood to give him 170 assists for the tournament. Hennings collected 52 total kills during the four matches and was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
By going 2-2 over the weekend, GU’s record moves to 10-9 with a 3-4 record within the MAMVIC. Graceland plays host to Missouri Valley College on Tuesday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. in what will be there final home match of the season. The match begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Clossen Center.
February 27 - Jackets Cruise to Victory Over Visiting Jets
Lamoni, IA- In front of a spirited Closson Center crowd, the Graceland University men’s volleyball team battled their way to 3-0 victory over the visiting Newman University Jets on Tuesday evening. A close match throughout, the Yellowjackets made the most of their opportunities en route to a three-game sweep, 30-22, 31-29, 30-28. With their victory over Newman, GU moves their overall record to 8-7 and 3-4 in the MAMVIC.
Leading the way on the front line for GU were three players reaching double-figure kill totals. Freshman outside-hitter Dan Parrish paced the Yellowjacket attack with 14 kills followed by Ronson Olaso and Steve Hennings with 12 and 10 kills respectively. Ainoa Miyashiro, Graceland’s junior setter and a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, who earlier in the season became GU’s all-time assist leader, continued his good passing work by contributing 42 assists in the three-game match. Freshman defensive specialist Noah Casaquit tallied 10 digs for the match to pace the Yellowjacket’s defensive effort.
The Yellowjackets don’t have long to rest however, as they prepare to travel over the weekend to participate in the Park University Tournament. Coach McDole’s squad opens up play on Friday, March 1st by squaring off against Warner Southern at 1:00 p.m. followed by a match versus Calumet at 5:00 p.m. Saturday’s action will feature the Blue and Gold taking on St. Ambrose at 10:00 a.m. and then Lindenwood University at 4:00 p.m. to round out tournament play.
Graceland’s only remaining home contest will be Tuesday, March 6th when the Missouri Valley College Vikings travel to Lamoni for a key MAMVIC western division tilt beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Closson Center.
February 20 - Yellowjackets Sting the Bobcats
Lamoni, Iowa –Graceland (2-4 MAMVIC, 7-7) gutted out a 3-0 (30-28, 30-21, 30-22) win over Peru State (0-4 MAMVIC, 0-6) tonight. GU stays home, Tuesday, February 27, taking on Newman. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.For Graceland, Al Dupont (Sr./Honolulu, Hawaii) had 13 kills and hit .385, Ainoa Miyashiro (Jr./Honolulu, Hawaii) had 35 assists and eight digs while Austin Isham (So./Leawood, Kan.) had seven total blocks.
February 7 - Jackets Raided by Vikings
Marshall, Mo. – Missouri Valley (1-1 MAMVIC, 4-3) came from behind to beat Graceland (0-3 MAMVIC, 4-4) 3-1 (28-30, 30-27, 30-25, 30-21) last night. GU stays on the road, Thursday, February 8, taking on Peru State. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.For Graceland, Clint Torres (Sr./Wahiawa, Hawaii) had 19 kills, Ronson Olaso (Fr./Waialua, Hawaii) had 10 kills and Dan Parrish (Fr./St. Louis, Mo.) had three service aces. In the match, Ainoa Miyashiro (Jr./Honolulu, Hawaii) became the first Yellowjacket to reach 2100 assists. He has 2103 in his three year career.
January 28 - Lindenwood Tournament
St. Charles, Mo. – Graceland (4-1) went undefeated at the Lindenwood Tournament, January 26-27. The Yellowjackets shared the tournament title with Cal Baptist. GU stays on the road, Tuesday, January 30 taking on Peru State. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.On Friday, Graceland defeated Cardinal Stritch 3-1 (30-27, 28-30, 30-19, 30-26) and Calumet 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-25). On Saturday, GU knocked off Moody Bible 3-0 (30-21, 30-15, 30-24) and Holy Names 3-2 (30-25, 27-30, 30-28, 28-30, 15-10).
For Graceland, Ronson Olaso (Fr./Waialua, Hawaii) had 62 kills (4.13 pg), 13 service aces and hit .244, Steve Hennings (So./Bettendorf, Iowa) had 52 kills (3.47 pg), 22 total blocks and hit .465, Al Dupont (Sr. Honolulu, Hawaii) had 51 kills (3.44 pg), 13 service aces and hit .269 and Noah Casaquit (Fr./Honolulu, Hawaii) led the team with 38 digs.
