By: @n_jcamp
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set to play three more matches this week, highlighted by their home opener on Tuesday vs. (RV) Saint Xavier. Following Tuesday's home contest, the Golden Eagles will hit the road on Saturday for a tri-match at Indiana Wesleyan where they will play the host (16) Wildcats and Trinity Christian College back-to-back.
Opponent: #RV Saint Xavier. (Ill.)
Date: Tuesday, August 29
Time: 6 p.m. EST
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Mol Arena)
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Tickets
Opponent: #16 Indiana Wesleyan
Date: Saturday, September 2
Time: 12 p.m. EST
Location: Marion, Ind. (Luckey Arena)
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Opponent: Trinity Christian (Ill.)
Date: Saturday, September 2
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Marion, Ind. (Luckey Arena)
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Home Opener T-Shirt Toss
As Cornerstone introduces the 2023 roster for the first time to the Mol Arena crowd tomorrow night, the 16-player roster will be tossing Cornerstone t-shirts into the crowd as part of a home opener promotion. Be sure to be in attendance for a 6 p.m. start inside Mol Arena.
Ranked/RV Opponents
Head Coach
Megan Lenhart and the Golden Eagles are known for playing some of the toughest opponents in the NAIA in the early season to get a taste of the best in preparation for the conference season. However, in recordable program history, Cornerstone has never started the year with five consecutive NAIA Top 25/RV opponents. CU played three receiving votes opponents in the IU-Kokomo Tournament and will play another on Tuesday before taking on the highest ranked non-conference team they will see this season in (16) Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.
Barron's Strong Start
Junior
Kylie Barron was one of the highlights of the opening weekend campaign as she led CU in kills, blocks, and hitting percentage over the first three matches. Barron hit .500, going over .600 in two of the three matches. She also recorded a career high 13 kills against Campbellsville while tallying 14 total blocks over three matches.
Three Away
After a 1-2 start, Head Coach
Megan Lenhart needs just three more wins for 100 in her career at her alma mater, Cornerstone. Lenhart has accumulated over 300 career wins as a head coach between Davenport and Cornerstone and looks to continue to build her legacy at CU. She holds a win percentage of over .700 as she is in her fifth season and has helped CU to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances.
National Tournament Rematch
Cornerstone will open their home campaign with a rematch against a team they saw twice last season, including in the NAIA National Tournament out in Sioux City, Iowa. CU won both matches last year against the Cougars including a five-set thriller in the NAIA National Tournament group round. Similarly, to Cornerstone, SXU has a young roster in 2023 with four freshmen which has resulted in an 0-3 start to the year as they also competed at the IU-Kokomo Tournament. The Cougars look to rediscover their offense without NCAA DI transfer Molly Hackett who graduated after just one season with Saint Xavier. SXU does return Kaleigh Ritter an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention setter from a season ago.
Scouting IWU/Trinity Christian
The two teams that Cornerstone will see in Marion, Indiana over the weekend have gotten off to two very different starts. The host Wildcats remain unbeaten winning four matches over four ranked opponents only dropping one total set. The Trolls on the other hand are 1-4 overall with their lone win coming in five sets vs. Saint Francis of Indiana. Over the last four seasons, IWU women's volleyball has not lost more than 10 games while TCC has lost over 20 games in each of the last two seasons.
Volleyball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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