October 9, 2007
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
The Evangel volleyball team will play a Heart of America Athletic Conference match at Missouri Valley in Marshall on Tuesday, Oct. 9. The varsity match will begin at 7 p.m. It will be preceded by the junior varsity match at 5:30.
The Lady Crusaders will then take the rest of the week off to celebrate homecoming this weekend. The team will resume action on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at Central Methodist in Fayette, Mo. The first varsity game is scheduled for 7 p.m. with a 5:30 start on the junior varsity match.
Evangel is 19-9 overall and 3-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Lady Crusaders have won five of their last six matches.
Missouri Valley is 4-20 overall and 0-6 in league play. The Vikings have won one of their last 12 matches. The win was vs. Friends four matches ago.
Senior Kristina Mooney had 18 digs versus Missouri Baptist on Oct. 5 to break the season digs mark. She now has 676 digs. The previous mark was 595 by Lisa Wakley in 2001.
Mooney is also now the owner of the career digs record at Evangel. She broke the previous mark during the final match of the Lindenwood Invitational. Mooney tallied 30 digs in the five-game match against McKendree on Oct. 6 to move past Molly Hawkins-Illum, who had 1,765 digs (1996-99). Mooney now has 1,775 digs.
In the four-match, 15 game Lindenwood Invitational on Oct. 5-6, Evangel won three matches and lost one. EU lost to Missouri Baptist 1-3 on Oct. 5 and came back later in the day to defeat Huston-Tillotson in three games. On Oct. 6, EU defeated Illinois at Springfield in three games and, in a touch match, managed to defeat McKendree in five games.
Julie O’Dell-Griffith led Evangel at the invite with a 46.5 kill percentage. She averaged 5.7 kills and 1.1 blocks per game. She was named to the all-tournament team. Kristina Mooney tallied 87 digs for an average of 5.8 per game. Shannon Yates was close behind with 71 digs and an average of 4.7. Rachel Rees led EU with seven aces and Mooney served 74 times without an error. Setters Skyler Warren and Rachel Rees finished the weekend with 96 and 81 assists, respectively.
Missouri Valley leads the series with Evangel, 24-20. The Lady Crusaders, however, have won the last three matches.
In 2006, Evangel defeated Missouri Valley 3-0 at home and 3-1 on a neutral court.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Lindenwood |
6-0 |
2 |
Baker |
5-1 |
| 3 | Graceland | 3-1 |
4 |
Benedictine |
4-2 |
5 |
Central Methodist |
3-2 |
|
Evangel |
3-2 |
| 7 | William Jewell | 2-2 |
| 8 | Avila | 1-4 |
9 |
MidAmerica Nazarene |
0-4 |
| Culver-Stockton | 0-4 | |
|
Missouri Valley |
0-6 |
Mary Penrod begins her 8th year as Evangel’s head volleyball coach in 2007. Her teams have won 20 or more matches the past four seasons. The 2006 Evangel team received votes for a spot on the NAIA national poll for the first time ever and the 2005 squad qualified for the program’s first visit to the NAIA Region V tournament. Penrod is currently 163-117 at Evangel.