FULTON, Miss. - For the second consecutive year, Ava Siegel has proven that she can impact the Northeast Mississippi Community College volleyball program in several different ways.
Siegel had a combined 25 kills to lead the Lady Tigers to a sweep in its final non-conference matches at the Volleyboo Round Robin on Friday, October 24 at the Davis Event Center.
Northeast defeated Northwest-Shoals (Ala.) Community College for the third time this season by a 3-1 margin and then took a straight sets decision from Reid State (Ala.) Technical College in their first-ever meeting.
The Tuscumbia, Ala., native started both her freshmen and sophomore campaigns as a defensive specialist for the Lady Tigers, but ended up moving to the outside during the latter half of each year.
Siegel's switch has helped Northeast win six of its last 10 contests, including three-in-a-row going into the regular season finale. She has double-digit kills in all but two of those matches.
She posted a double-double against Northwest-Shoals with 17 kills and 10 digs. Siegel has produced double figure digs in 17 total matches, including 11 in the Reid State matchup.
"The team is really pushing me to be the best I can be," said Siegel. "If the setter is getting a good set, I'm going to kill it as hard as I can. I'm going to do the best in whatever I can for the team."
Eliza Whitenton and Reese Moore extended their record setting seasons with double-digit kills in both matches. Whitenton had 27 kills while Moore contributed 22.
Abbey Hall had 45 assists with 26 of them coming in the opening contest with the Lady Patriots. Libero Carine Delfin once again topped the Lady Tigers (13-22) defensively with 32 digs in the doubleheader.
Addi Vetovitz wrapped up an excellent week in the middle of Northeast's formation. She had a part in five of the Lady Tigers' 10 successful blocks on the day.
"She has really picked her game up. She's attacking the ball and getting the ball in play," said Northeast head coach Brenda Mayes. "They were really excited at the end of the matches we just played. We've got to keep working because there are bigger things ahead."
The Lady Tigers visit Northwest Mississippi Community College on Monday, October 27 before competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament two days later.