WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Kenyon College volleyball team emphatically entered the win column with three straight five-set triumphs to end their week, and Aura Barinas bolstered the Owls over the winning stretch. After posting huge performances in the three wins and helping Kenyon to a 3-2 record over the week, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) bestowed its volleyball Athlete of the Week award upon Barinas.
Barinas had 10 or more kills in four of Kenyon’s five matches over the week, and she averaged a double-double with 14.2 kills and 11.2 digs per match over the busy stretch. All five of the Owls outings went the full five sets, and the junior stepped up her game over three straight wins to close the week. Over the three wins, Barinas averaged 18 kills and 12 digs while hitting a combined .274.
After tallying 10 kills on a .098 hitting percentage against Bluffton University and seven kills on a .000 hitting percentage against Fredonia, Barinas busted out for her best collegiate performance, a 25-kill match against Geneva College (Pa.). She hit a stellar .360 on her 50 attacks, and her 25 total kills are tied for the sixth-most in Kenyon history and rank fourth all-time for a five-set match. For good measure, she also added 11 digs and three assists.
The following day against Penn State Behrend, Barinas led the team with 15 kills and 17 digs, her second straight double-double and fourth this season. The 17 digs marked a season-high for the outside hitter and tied for the second-most in her career. She also set a career-high with four assists. Barinas backed up the game with a 14-kill, eight-dig showing in another Owls win, hitting .237 and tying for second on the team in kills against Houghton University.
Barinas and the Owls will look to keep rolling when the team heads to Wilmington College to play the Quakers (0-5) later today at 7 p.m. Kenyon then has another busy weekend on deck with four games at the Hanover College Invitational.