Volleyball | 10/4/2012 10:08:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – In a four-game match, Lady Bulldog volleyball fell just short of beating the Friends University Lady Falcons, losing 1-3 by a combined 20 points. The defeat puts McPherson at 5-14 for the season, 2-7 in conference.
Thursday’s volleyball match in the McPherson Sport center pitted the KCAC’s second, Friends University, and ninth, McPherson College, ranked teams with the Lady Falcons the heavy favorite. The Lady Bulldogs paid no attention to Friends’ ranking and came out hard, diving all over the court for every loose ball. However, it was the Lady Falcons who came out the victor in four games.
Although Friends led the entire first game, they never had a lead larger than two until they hit the 10-point mark. After that, the Lady Falcons were able to take two points at a time, extending their lead and ultimately giving them the win 25-22, as they held off a late McPherson run.
The second game was much of the same as the two teams traded points to start things off but, much like in game one, Friends started gaining their points in chunks which enabled them to keep a five-point cushion for the majority of the game, winning 25-18
McPherson was a determined team in the third game, trying their hardest to not make this a three-point shutout. After a back-and-forth start, the Lady Bulldogs took control, leading for most of the game. Friends tried to take over, grabbing the lead a few times but MC always had an answer and took game three 26-24.
Playing off of the energy of the previous game, McPherson came out on fire in what turned out to be the final game of the match. MC held the lead until an 8-0 Falcon run put Friends up 15-8. The Lady Bulldogs tried to respond but were unable to conjure up enough points to keep themselves in the game, losing 15-25.
After the four-game match, MC, surprisingly, only had one player in double figures in total points; Cortlyne Huppe (Florence, Colo.) posted 15.2 points on 14 kills, one solo and one assisted block. Phoebe Barton (Little River, Kan.), Tori Phelan (Rangely, Colo.) and Aubrey Hoover (Pratt, Kan.) each contributed eight kills.
Both McPherson setters benefited from all of those kills as Hannah Hoffman (Bendena, Kan.) recorded 22 assists while Rachel Phillips (Maize, Kan.) had 15.
The Lady Bulldogs will get three days off before their next match which is another KCAC contest, this one against the Tabor College Blue Jays. The contest is scheduled for October 8th at 7:00 p.m. (CT) in the McPherson Sport Center.
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