Women's Volleyball 11/4/2021 5:10:00 PM

Women's Volleyball Notes -- Week 11

WEEK 11
The 19th-ranked OUAZ women's volleyball team will play at home for the final time of the regular season this weekend as they host a pair of Golden State Athletic Conference matches. The Spirit host Hope International on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing Life Pacific on Saturday at 1 p.m.

OUAZ returns home with a 21-2 overall record and has won a program-record nine straight matches. The Spirit is 13-1 in conference play and holds a two-game lead in the standings with four matches to play.

Entering the weekend, OUAZ has a magic number of two for clinching the program's first-ever GSAC title. The magic number for securing one of the conference's two bids to the NAIA National Championship is one.

In six all-time meetings against Hope International, OUAZ has recorded two wins. That includes a 3-1 win over the Royals last month in Fullerton. The Spirit is 1-2 against Hope at home, with none of those meetings being played at Faith Arena.

OUAZ has gone 5-3 all-time against Life Pacific, but the Warriors are the only conference team to defeat the Spirit this season after their 3-1 win on October 1. OUAZ is 2-0 in the series at home, with Saturday's match set to be the first time the teams have played at Faith Arena.

TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets for all matches are available by visiting OUAZSpirit.com/tickets or downloading the HomeTown Ticketing Fan App and searching OUAZ. As a reminder, masks are required when inside Faith Arena, per OUAZ policies.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Both matches this week will be available live on the OUAZ Digital Network and the GSAC Sports Network app. The OUAZ Network is available on your computer or mobile device at OUAZSpirit.com/watch. You can download the GSAC Network app on all Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku devices.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
After spending the previous three polls ranked No. 20 in the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, OUAZ moved up one position to No. 19 in the fifth edition of the poll released by the national office on October 27.

Along with setting the program record for longest winning streak, the 21 wins overall is also a new program record. The previous record was 17 set during the 2018 season.

OUAZ has seen a wealth of success in matches that go the distance, recording a 7-1 record in matches that end in five sets. They are 11-1 in five-set matches over the past two seasons while winning 12 of the last 13 matches to go to a deciding set.

The Spirit is also 2-0 this season when they lose the first two sets of a match. They first rallied for a win after losing the first two sets to then-No. 12 Bellevue on September 10. OUAZ completed the comeback again at The Master's on October 30. Entering the season, the Spirit had a 2-38 record when trailing a match 2-0.

At 12.74 kills per set, OUAZ currently leads the GSAC and ranks 38th in the NAIA. The Spirit has recorded more kills than its opponents in 20 matches this year. They have also had a higher hitting percentage in 19 matches while hitting .203 overall to lead the conference.

The Spirit also leads the conference and is ranked 29th in the NAIA by averaging 1.98 service aces per set. The team is third in the conference, with an average of 17.32 digs per set, which is 48th nationally. Add in the 1.57 blocks per set, and OUAZ holds the opposition to .120 hitting.

Kate Pestova has tallied 390 kills on the season, and she leads the conference in both total kills and at 4.24 kills per set. Her kills per set average are 11th in the NAIA heading into the weekend.

Pestova has reached double figures in kills 22 times this season and in 38 of the 39 matches, she has played at OUAZ.
Pestova became the OUAZ career leader in kills in the win at Westmont; her total is at 636 at this point of the season. She has also set the single-season record this year.
She has recorded ten double-doubles and has two matches this season – and three in her OUAZ career – with 20-plus kills and 20-plus digs.
Pestova also leads the conference and ranks 16th in the NAIA by averaging 4.6 points per set.

Cristal Carrizoza has been a critical factor in the success of the Spirit this season, running the offense to its highest averages in program history.

She leads the GSAC with 916 total assists and by averaging 9.96 assists per set – 26th in the NAIA.
Carrizoza is the only player in program history to surpass 1,000 career assists, and she enters the weekend with 1,265 at OUAZ. She needs 36 assists to set the program's single-season record.
Carrizoza is also the GSAC leader at 0.61 aces per set, while her 56 total aces also lead the conference and rank sixth nationally
She holds the OUAZ career record with 91 career aces, and this season's 49 aces are the single-season record.
Carrizoza recorded the first 50-20 match in program history with 54 assists and 22 digs against Westmont on September 18.

Valentina Trovato leads the Spirit with 370 digs – third-most in the GSAC – and she is averaging 4.02 digs per set.

That average ranks fourth in the conference.
Trovato has reached double figures in digs 17 times this season and 31 times in her OUAZ career.
She enters the weekend 58 digs shy of the single-season program record and 142 away from the career record.

Avie Butsko is hitting a team-best .268 to place second in the conference and 94th nationally.

Butsko has been in double figures in kills ten times this season and 27 times at OUAZ.
She currently ranks 16th in the conference with 193 kills and 15th with 53 blocks.

Chelsea Taylor has recorded 75 blocks to rank second in the GSAC in the category. She has tallied at least three blocks in a match 16 times this season.

Her 0.89 blocks per set ranks fifth in the conference
Taylor needs three blocks to set the OUAZ single-season record.

LOOKING AHEAD
OUAZ will close the regular season next week with its final two conference matches. The Spirit will play at San Diego Christian on November 12 before facing Vanguard on November 13.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Avie Butsko: MB; 5' 11"; Senior

#17 Cristal Carrizoza: S; 5' 9"; Junior

#13 Kate Pestova: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#18 Chelsea Taylor: MB/OPP; 5' 11"; Senior

#2 Valentina Trovato: L; 5' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#14 Avie Butsko
: 5' 11"; Senior
: MB

#17 Cristal Carrizoza
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#13 Kate Pestova
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#18 Chelsea Taylor
: 5' 11"; Senior
: MB/OPP

#2 Valentina Trovato
: 5' 6"; Senior
: L