Volleyball | 9/27/2011 8:58:00 PM
Box Score
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – Senior middle hitter Kory Hiebert (Goessel, Kan.) had a team-high 11 kills while hitting .526, as the McPherson College volleyball team swept Bethany College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-18) Tuesday evening at the McPherson Sport Center.
"I'm pleased with our overall team performance against Bethany," said McPherson head coach Susan Barton. "We communicated well and improved our hitting percentage, both of which we've been working on in practice. We need to continue this momentum going into our match with Bethel on Thursday and Ottawa Saturday."
With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 5-11 overall and 2-4 in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference play, while the Swedes fall to 1-12 overall and 0-5 in league action.
As a unit, McPherson concluded the contest with a .310 hitting percentage and 12.0 total team blocks. In addition to Hiebert, junior outside hitter Natalie Boss (Waterville, Kan.) added nine kills, while senior middle hitter Amy Neufeld (Hillsboro, Kan.) chipped in eight with a .412 hitting percentage.
Defensively, Hiebert led the team with three solo blocks and eight block assists, while sophomore Karina Harvey (Walton, Kan.) tallied 14 digs in her first start at libero.
McPherson overcame an early 11-9 deficit in the first set with a 10-2 run for a 19-14 lead. The Bulldogs finished the set just a few points later on a Hiebert kill and a Bethany attacking error. Much like the first frame, MC fell behind early in set two, 11-9. However, McPherson clawed its way back, aided by a pair of Bethany errors, to take a 13-11 lead. MC won eight of the final 10 points of the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
McPherson hit a match-high .385 in set two with 13 kills on 26 attempts and only three errors.
A commanding 14-4 run to start set three paved the way for the sweep in the third set, as the Bulldogs closed the frame and the match, 25-18.
Junior setting Theresa Read led the Swedes with five kills and 17 assists. As a team, Bethany hit -.009 on the night.
McPherson returns on action on Thursday when they travel to Bethel College. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Thresher Gymnasium.
