Women's Volleyball 9/7/2021 1:00:00 PM

Women's Volleyball Notes -- Week 3

WEEK 3
Off to the best start in program history, OUAZ (6-0, 0-0 GSAC) looks to continue that run with a challenging week of three matches. The Spirit starts by opening GSAC play on Wednesday when they head across town to face Arizona Christian (6-0, 0-0 GSAC) at the Firestorm Recreation Center at 6 p.m. The first conference match of the season features the two teams with the best record in the GSAC through this part of the non-conference season.

OUAZ will then host a home triangular on Friday where they will face No. 12 Bellevue (5-0) and No. 10 Providence (7-1) in Faith Arena. Bellevue and Providence will open the day with a match at 1 p.m. The Spirit will then face Bellvue at 3:30 p.m. and Providence at 6 p.m.

Bellevue and Providence are the first non-conference ranked opponents to visit Surprise in the history of the OUAZ program. It will also be the first time the Spirit has hosted a ranked team since September 21, 2019, when they played 21st-ranked Vanguard.

TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the OUAZ Triangular on Friday are available now by visiting OUAZSpirit.com/tickets or by 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
Every match this week – including the Bellevue vs. Providence match – 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.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ ran its winning streak to seven straight, dating back to last season by securing three wins last week. The current streak is the longest winning streak in program history.

The Spirit has gone 5-0 at home, and they are 1-0 in road matches. They have won seven straight home matches dating back to last season, and they are 9-2 all-time in Faith Arena.

Behind the strength of the fast start to the season, OUAZ received votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll released on August 25. The Spirit was awarded 42 points in the survey to place just outside the top 25 in the 28th position. Only Westmont at No. 15 is ranked higher among teams from the GSAC. The next poll will be released on September 15.

With the two five-set wins during the OUAZ Invitational, the Spirit has now won seven straight matches that have gone the distance dating back to the 2019 season. OUAZ was 4-0 in five-set matches last season and hasn't lost a five-setter since September 28, 2019, at Menlo.

The Spirit is currently averaging 13.39 kills per set on the season, ranking them 21st in the NAIA. After hitting below .200 in the first three matches of the season, they turned that around by hitting above.270 in each match last week. The team is currently 41st in the nation with a .226 hitting percentage.

OUAZ is also solid on the defensive side, where they rank 10th in the country by getting 18.61 digs per set, and they are averaging 1.70 bocks per set to sit 79th nationally.

Kate Pestova has tallied 107 kills on the season, and she leads the conference at 4.65 kills per set. Her average has her fourth in the NAIA for the season.
• Pestova has reached double figures in kills in all six matches this season and all 25 matches she has played at OUAZ.
• Pestova also leads the conference and ranks eighth in the NAIA by averaging 5.0 points per set.

Avie Butsko is hitting a team-best .393 to rank second in the conference and 10th nationally.
• Butsko has been in double figures in kills three times this season, including posting 12 kills on .409, hitting against Trinity International on Saturday.
• Butsko is 12th in the GSAC by averaging 2.79 kills per set, and she is seventh with an average of 3.5 points per set.
• At 0.95 blocks per set, Butsko ranks fifth in the conference and 74th in the NAIA.

Valentina Trovato leads the Spirit with 119 digs –fifth-most in the GSAC – and she is averaging 5.17 digs per set.
• That average ranks second in the conference and 30th in the country at this point of the season.
• Trovato reached double figures in digs during all six matches, and she has now hit the mark in 17 straight matches dating back to last season.

This season, Cristal Carrizoza has been excellent in running the Spirit offense and has recorded 241 assists to average 10.48 assists per set.
• Her total assists are second-most in the conference and 32nd in the NAIA while she leads the GSAC and sits 13th nationally in assist average.
• She also ranks in the GSAC top 20 in both aces per set and digs per set.

Livia De Pra made her Spirit debut last week and immediately made an impact in various ways.
• De Pra averaged 2.44 kills per set on .309 hitting during her first three matches.
• She also posted eight service aces, 30 digs, and three blocks in the team's three wins.

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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

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

#11 Livia De Pra: OH/MB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#11 Livia De Pra
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH/MB