GLIAC Release

GLIAC - For the second time in program history and first time since 2018, the Davenport women's volleyball program has landed three players on the All-GLIAC teams, as announced by the league on Thursday evening. Junior outside hitter, Hayley Kreiger, was named All-GLIAC for the third time in as many seasons and was featured on the First Team for the second-consecutive campaign. Also making the cut for the Panthers was another junior outside hitter, Riley Groves, on the Second Team as well as sophomore middle blocker, Emmy Webb, with an Honorable Mention nod.

Starting with Hayley Kreiger, the South Haven native finished her 2020-21 regular season as well as anyone in the country and has turned herself into a dominant presence on the outside. The 6-1 attacker finished with at least 20 kills in each of Davenport's last five matches, a span in which she hit a red-hot .312 with 113 kills and only 29 errors on 269 swings. In Kreiger's 67 career matches prior to that stretch, she sent home 20 or more kills in a match just twice. Rounding out those five matches was a performance in which Kreiger racked up a personal best 25 kills as part of her fourth-consecutive double-double, fifth of the season and ninth of her career. Among the GLIAC's statistical leaders, Krieger is first in kills with 209, 16 more than the second-place player, second in attacks with 612, and fourth in hitting percentage among players with at least 400 swings.

"Hayley has evolved her overall game this season and it's no longer just about her attacking," said head coach, Brian Netzler. "I'm so happy for her and I think the thing that goes a little unnoticed is despite being named First Team again, she's upped her hitting percentage by about 20 points. She's capable of scoring against just about anybody and everybody when she wants to and I'm real proud of her."

Next up is Riley Groves who is featured on an All-GLIAC Team for the first time in her career. Prior to this season, the Walkerton, Ind. native had appeared in 28 matches in her career and accumulated 107 kills in those 28 outings. In the 2021 season alone, Groves has sent home 129 kills in just 13 matches while hitting .238, more than eight points better than her career hitting percentage of .156 entering the season. Groves has also tallied 10 or more kills in a match seven times this season, something she did only once in her first two seasons combined. The John Glenn High School product has also stepped up her blocking defense with 12 blocks in 13 matches as opposed to 11 in 22 matches as a sophomore.

"I'm so proud of Riley," said Netzler. "She took over the reigns of that second outside position midway through last season and she's been a steady force for us. The thing with Riley is consistency, but she's found that this season and isn't afraid of any block that she sees across the net. Her blocking has improved as well despite her being a bit undersized."

Last but certainly not least is the second-year performer out of Rockford, Emmy Webb. Just to get an idea of how efficient a hitter Webb has been since stepping onto campus prior to the 2019 season, she's first in program history in hitting percentage among those with at least 250 attempts to their name. That career hitting percentage for Webb is .289 with 229 kills and only 69 errors on 553 swings. Webb put the rumors of a sophomore slump to bed as she improved her freshman hitting percentage of .283 to .301 as a sophomore. The individual performance that really jumps off the page came on Feb. 26 in the home opener against Purdue Northwest. Webb hit .773 (17-0-22) to break the school record for hitting percentage in a single match with a minimum of 20 attempts (previous record was Hannah Stone's .714 in 2014).

"Emmy is an absolute gym rat and is always talking about the game," said Netzler. "She's put the work in and has turned herself into one of the top blockers in this conference. The attacking has always been there and can really make some teams pay in system, but we wouldn't be one of the top blocking teams in the GLIAC if not for Emmy."



Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler