Allen Volleyball opened the season in Rockford, Ill., this past weekend, competing in four matches at the Opening Weekend Tournament with more than 80 teams in attendance.
The Red Devils opened the weekend against nationally ranked No. 1 Parkland College. In the first set, Parkland held Allen to a .208 hitting percentage while hitting .500 themselves. Allen finished the set with eight kills on 24 total attempts, falling 17-25. Although Allen lowered Parkland’s hitting percentage to .375 in the second set and .216 in the third, the Red Devils fell 18-25 and 15-25.
Taylor Damme led the Red Devils with seven kills while hitting .111, while Jaidyn Follis ran the offense with 12 assists. Carolina Mania and Baylee Belt led Allen defensively with 14 and 10 digs, respectively.
In their second match of the day, Allen flipped the script against No. 16 nationally ranked Sauk Valley Community College, earning a convincing 3-0 win. Allen recorded 11 kills in the first set while hitting .267, taking the set 25-18. The Red Devils followed with 13 kills in the second set to win 25-16. Sauk Valley mounted a late push in the third set, taking it into extra points, but Allen closed out the match with a 28-26 victory.
Belt recorded a double-double, leading the Red Devils with 12 kills and 12 digs while hitting .500.
The Red Devils returned to action the following day with two more matchups against Pima Community College and Southwestern Community College.
Allen fell to Pima 0-3, dropping the sets 17-25, 21-25 and 23-25 while hitting .051 as a team. Kailee Hansen led Allen with nine kills on 21 attempts.
Allen finished the weekend with a 3-1 win over Southwestern, closing the tournament on a strong note while hitting .175 as a team. The Red Devils took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-16 before Southwestern claimed the third set 25-21. In a closely contested fourth set, Allen secured the match with a 25-23 victory.
Damme led all players with 19 kills while hitting .286, while Follis tallied 18 assists and Mania recorded 20 digs.
Allen is now 2-2 on the season and will continue its nonconference schedule at the SCC Iowa Tournament Aug. 28-29. The Red Devils will play four more matches against Spoon River College, Southeastern Community College, Frontier Community College and John Wood Community College.
