Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DOWAGIAC — The Southwestern Michigan College volleyball team continued its roll with a sweep of visiting Oakland Community College in a rare Saturday afternoon match at the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse.

The Roadrunners (16-8) won their third consecutive match by defeating Oakland 25-16, 25-13 and 25-10.

“Today was a total team win,” said SMC Coach Jenny Nate. “Our entire roster of healthy players were on the court today, and the score got progressively better each set which has been one of our team goals. Every player played confidently, consistently, and aggressively which resulted in the sweep. We have spent a lot of time watching film and doing a lot of self-evaluation; we head into practice daily with a goal to improve by one percent each day in some realm of our game. That work and focus is resulting in more wins and better score margins.”

Two areas that Southwestern Michigan has improved in recently is hitting and defense.

On Saturday, seven players had two or more kills, led by Buchanan freshman Josie West’s 10. Niles sophomore Nikki Nate finished with eight and Edwardsburg sophomore Shayla Shears added five.

Defensively, nine players had two or more digs, led by Amanda Jones (XXX) with 11. West had nine and Nate and Niles sophomore Emma Beckman both had six, while freshman Sophia Deeds (Centreville) and Niles freshman Anna Johnson each had five.

“Our hitting percentage has increased weekly, and our defense is making the play or getting a touch on every ball,” Nate said. “Our block numbers were fantastic today too, which put a lot of pressure on their attackers. I’m so proud of the drive and work ethic these ladies have, and we are excited to head to Ancilla Tuesday for another conference match.”

The Roadrunners will try and continue their climb up the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference when they travel to Donaldson, Indiana to face the Chargers. Southwestern Michigan will follow that up with a trip to Lansing Community College on Thursday to face the conference leading Stars.