Arredondo Bedoya named AOTW, helps Comets to 4th straight win

Karen Arredondo Bedoya picked up where she left off following an award-worthy week for the Comets.

The sophomore libero had 21 digs, six assists and an ace in a five-set win over Southeastern Wednesday evening. It was the Comets' (17-9 overall, 5-2 ICCAC) fourth straight win.

The first three wins occurred in Independence, Kansas, where the Comets dropped just two sets and Arredondo Bedoya earned her ICCAC Athlete of the Week honor for the week of Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

Arredondo Bedoya totaled 75 digs across three victories in Kansas. She tallied 23 in a four-set loss to ICCAC opponent Ellsworth on Oct. 2. The Comets hit 11.47 kills/set last week, just ahead of their season-average of 11.09.

Head coach Laurel Durst sees a correlation between her libero and the potency of the Western Iowa Tech attack.

"Her defense and serve receive has been huge for us," Durst said. "Being a five-and-a-half rotation player, she is involved in almost every play in some capacity. She knows her job is to take any ball in her area and the importance of her serve-receive game.

"She has really locked in and stepped up to that responsibility and has played a large role in our ability to run our offense from in front of the 10-foot line."

The Comets set a program best with 68 kills against the Blackhawks, sophomore setter Kaira Willits set a career-high with 56 assists and middles Sajai Jackson and Sofia Pineda Franco both set personal bests with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Jackson's three solo blocks were also a season-high.

Sophomore outside Maya Augustine scored a team-high 19 kills and sophomore outside Jagoda Szczepaniak had 17. Right side hitter Kealohilani DeNisi added eight.

Arredondo Bedoya set a new personal best with 31 digs Saturday in a four-set win against Labette. She also scored an ace and was second on the team with five assists.

"Her strengths as a libero are she anticipates and reads the other team's offense well, she is very quick, and she is able to get a lot of great touches due to her all-out effort on defense," Durst said. "She also brings great energy to floor which is so important."

As of Thursday, Oct. 10, Arredondo Bedoya's 469 digs is second in the ICCAC and her 4.94 digs/set average ranks third. Her stats are all the more impressive when you consider she was recruited as an outside hitter who has donned the libero jersey out of necessity. 

"I think her experience as a hitter and perspective of the floor gave her an advantage as she transitioned into the libero role for us because she already had the mind of an offensive player," Durst said. "Having that experience from the other side of the ball I think helps her anticipate what the hitter on the other side may do."