College Volleyball: Ridgewater tangles with top talent at Catawba tournament

HICKORY, N.C. - The Ridgewater volleyball team posted a 1-3 record at the Catawba Valley Invitational over the weekend.
The Warriors defeated Northern Virginia 25-21, 25-6 and 25-10 on Friday.
They lost to Catawba Valley 25-22, 25-14 and 25-21 on Friday, and they dropped matches to Southern Methodist College (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-13) and undefeated Monroe College (25-17, 25-16 and 25-23) on Saturday.
“The tournament presented an elite competitive opportunity and it gave us a chance to access our strengths and weaknesses,” said Ridgewater head coach Joe Sussenguth. “I was pleased with how our defense adapted to quicker and stronger offenses.”
Hailey Leiding led the Warriors with 29 kills and Brenna Olsen put away 24 shots. Natalie Feldhake had 20 kills.
Kaitlyn Sterner finished with 101 set assists.
Feldhake led the team with 15 ace blocks. Leiding had 11 and Ariana Hasti had 10.
The Warriors return home to play host to St. Cloud Technical at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“By playing against tougher opponents, we were able to recognize how our offense needs to improve,” Sussenguth said. “Our goal now is to take what we’ve gained from our experience this weekend and apply it to our practices and competitions ahead.”