Cedarville sweeps Northwood; libero Alivia Rutt reaches 1,000 digs

By Danielle Cherry 

Coming off of a 3-1 victory against Hillsdale on Friday night, Cedarville made it two straight Saturday with a win over Northwood: 25-19, 25-10, 25-17. 

Not only did the Lady Jackets sweep, but Cedarville libero Alivia Rutt came out serving a 10-point streak and achieved a career total of 1,000 digs. 

The match against Hillsdale marked the first game of GMAC play. Coming into Saturday, there was a lot of expectation for another win to make the Jackets (4-5 overall) 2-0 in conference play. 

“I was proud of the team because after a really good match last night, and just the possible drain it could have on us, I didn’t feel like we let last night infiltrate what we were doing today,” said head coach Greg Smith.

There was no lack of pace in Saturday’s match, with heavy hitters Madelyn Hensley and Carly Craighead swinging 10 kills each over the course of the match. There was precision in each swing of the ball, reading the Timberwolves and placing the ball exactly where they weren’t. 

“The setting side of things got a little bit more consistent this weekend,” Smith said. “I thought Sidney did a really good job defensively — we raised our level of play.” 

With Sidney Shepherd the only playing setter on the team, her second year at Cedarville has brought a lot of change in game pace, now finding herself on the starting line of every match.

Her confidence with the ball has increased, getting it right into an awaiting attacker’s hand. Shepherd is a force to be reckoned with on the net, blocking and even getting the chance to get in a couple of kills herself, scoring two points off a second-ball hit. 

But nothing can happen on the front row without a solid back row. Crossing over each other, Bekah Williams and Rutt dig up seemingly impossible balls, with Rutt sliding her hand under the ball just in time for a pancake dig. 

With a total of 23 digs, Rutt reached 1,000 — an impressive feat for a junior.. At the start of this season, Rutt was struggling on the serving line, but Saturday’s game proved she is formidable on the serve — creating a 10-point lead in the second set. 

“I think our trust is just getting so much better between the players, and that’s just indicative of being a brand new team basically,” Smith said. 

With the incredible momentum in the second set, the Jackets did not let up the pace. Allie Pilat came in from the outside swinging line sending Northwood to play balls out-of-system. Falling not far behind her teammates, Pilat killed eight total balls, setting Cedarville’s hitting percentage at .248 to Northwood’s 0.56.  

The difference in hitting percentages caused Northwood to always be on the defensive, playing catch up to Cedarville’s quick leads at the start of each set. There was no one thing that Cedarville did that gave them the victory, rather it was a culmination of adjustments in small areas that made the difference. 

“When we have trust we gain confidence and when we have confidence we play such a smoother style of ball,” Smith said. “That’s all we can ask, is that each day, we just get a little bit better as a team and we can go from there.”

The difference between Cedarville’s confidence Saturday and how they started the season with the invitational matches is drastic. Every player on the court knew their role and played it well. 

Looking forward the Jackets face Kentucky Wesleyan in another GMAC game Friday to start a string of four road games. Already 2-0 in conference play, Cedarville looks to continue their streak hoping to rise to the top of the Southern Division. 

What will it take? A continued trust in each other and continued pace, working to fix small details so that the team keeps improving. 

Danielle Cherry is a junior communication major and writer for Cedars Sports and Assistant Editor and writer for A&E. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and is continually impressed at how Rutt is able to throw herself and still get the ball.