Viking volleyball kicks off season in Illinois

The Glen Oaks Community College volleyball team kicked off the 2024 season at the Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, Ill., which featured a litany of talented squads. 

The Vikings were competitive in their four matches and the experience will be valuable moving forward as GOCC gears up for Michigan Community College Athletic Association play. 

Saturday, August 24

South Suburban defeated Glen Oaks 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23 in the first match. Sophomore Kaytlin Smith recorded 11 kills and freshmen Gina Smith and Karsyn Stebbins each had eight to lead GOCC's attack. Newcomers Elayna Zuidema and Keegan Russell produced 13 and 12 assists, respectively, and Russell finished with a team-best five service aces. Defensively, Russell had 16 digs, while fellow freshman Isabella Coy had 10. Alicyn Arevalo, a freshman out of Mendon, registered two blocks to go with four kills. 

Ranked No. 19 in the country, Rock Valley beat the Vikings 25-22, 25-14, 25-17, in the second match of the day. Stebbins hit at a 30-percent clip with a team-high nine kills and she finished with four digs and a block. Kaytlin Smith racked up eight kills and three blocks, Zuidema finished with seven assists, an ace, five digs and a block, and Russell added a kill, six assists, a block, two aces and a team-high 10 digs. Arevelo chipped in two kills and a pair of blocks, Clay had seven digs, Gina Smith had two kills and a dig, and Coy notched a kill, an ace and eight digs. 

Sunday, August 25

Highland topped Glen Oaks 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 to start Sunday's action. Kaytlin Smith pounded 11 kills and made five blocks. Stebbins was next in line offensively with six kills and she also led the Vikings with 10 digs. Arevalo added four kills and three blocks, Zuidema posted three kills and five digs, Russell had a team-high 10 assists and three aces along with eight digs and a pair of blocks, and Gina Smith produced a pair of kills, and five digs. Coy finished with seven digs and an ace. 

To wrap up the tourney, Joliet prevailed with a 17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-13 victory over the Vikings. Kaytlin Smith had 12 kills and five blocks in the match, Arevalo and Stebbins both produced five kills, and Russell led the team with nine assists to go with 10 digs. From the service line, Stebbins laced six aces, while Zuidema added four kills and seven assists.