2010 Regis University Volleyball Denmark/Sweden Trip Blog

Throughout the Denmark/Sweden trip, senior Kerry Grady will be sending reports from the Rangers' European trip.

August 18

The Regis Rangers, who arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark early this morning, defeated Fortuna Odensa last year's Danish elite champions 3-0 with the scores of 25-11, 25-11, and 25-14.  The Rangers are lead by five seniors Devin Echkardt, Jessica Howe, Erin Anderson, Sarah Keiter, and Kerry Grady.  Despite 11 hours of flight time, the Rangers came out strong with a team hitting percentage of .317.  The Rangers were lead by Jessica Howe with 12 kills and a .750 hitting percentage.  Kerry Grady was next for the Rangers with five kills followed by sophomore Caitlin McDonnell and Freshman Christy Henzgen each with four kills.  Rangers also had eight service aces.  Rangers were backed by strong defense from freshman libero Sage Martinson and defensive specialists Katie Hudencial, Jordan Hughes, and Cassidee Young.

August 19 

The Regis Rangers earned another win today defeating last year's 3rd place Denmark Elite League team Brondby in 3 sets (and playing two more exhibition sets).  The Rangers who played a solid and composed match were steadied by senior setter Devin Eckhardt and freshman setter Sage Martinson. Their consistency set up hitters for a combined .326 hitting percentage lead by senior Kerry Grady with 20 kills and a .581 hitting percentage. Freshman Christy Henzgen was next for the rangers with 17 kills and a .324 hitting percentage. Senior Erin Anderson had 11 kills and fellow senior Jessica Howe had 7. Strong serving from the rangers also disrupted the Brondby offense. Freshman Sage Martinson had 7 service aces and junior Cassidee Young had 5. senior Jessica Howe and freshman Christy Henzgen finished with 3 blocks each proving to be force at the net.

August 20

The Rangers were yet again successful!!  The Rangers defeated Frederiksberg, last year's Danish Elite League 4th place team in 3 straight sets playing one extra expedition set.  After coming off of a fun filled day at the Tivoli Gardens, the Rangers regained composure to win 4 sets 25-15, 25-16, 25-16, and 25-17.  Rangers combined to hit a .352 bettering their hitting percentage from last night.  The Rangers were lead by freshman Christy Henzegen with 14 kills (.444)  followed by senior Kerry Grady with 10 kills (.400), Jessica Howe with 7 kills (.636), Devin Echardt with 7 kills (.545), and senior Erin Anderson with 6 kills (.063).  Depth proves to be a strength of Regis with all able players playing in the match.  Devin Eckhardt remained steady for the Regis and was supported by soid passing from defensive specialists Jordan Hughes, Sage Martinson, Cassidee Younge, and Katie Hudencial.

August 22

Regis Rangers Take the Denmark Tournament

The Regis Rangers went 4-0 today, winning the tournament sponsored by home team Fortuna.  “We really feel like we are jelling as team,” says senior captain Devin Eckhardt.  “Everyone is giving their full effort and we are playing for each other.”  The Rangers, who swept the two challenge matches in the morning, hit a team average of .187 vs. Skovbakken and a .377 against Fortuna.  Jessica Howe led the Rangers in the first match with 10 kills.  Both Jessica Howe and Christy Henzegen lead the Rangers with 7 kills in the match against Fortuna.  “The best thing about our team is our chemistry,” says Howe.  The Rangers had two tougher matches later in the day when they took on Vordingborg and a Brondby.  Vordingborg, which has three talented American division I players, proved to be tough competition for the Rangers, but not tough enough.  The Rangers had a combined attack percentage of .207 lead by freshman Christy Henzgen with 11 kills. The final championship match placed the Rangers against Brondby, who the team had beaten three days prior. The Brondby team was out seeking revenge and took the first game from the Rangers.  However, the Rangers battled back fighting through a tough second game but then blowing away the Brondby team with a final 3rd game score of 25-13.  The Rangers were lead by Christy Henzegen with 17 kills and a .333 attack percentage. “Christy brings an aggressive and positive attitude to our team,” says senior Kerry Grady.  “She inspires us all to have an attack mentality.”  The Rangers have a very deep team this season with goals of success.  “It’s impressive to see how much we have grown as a team,” says senior Erin Anderson.  “We’ve matured and raised our level of play.”  The Rangers will travel to Sweden tomorrow to play three more matches against Swedish professional teams.