BARTLESVILLE, Okla. --- The McPherson College volleyball team finished off a stretch of four matches in three days with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-22 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference loss at Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon.
After an emotional third-set win to finish off a sweep of Southwestern on Friday night, the Bulldogs (16-8, 9-6 KCAC) came out with some steam against the Eagles (14-7, 9-5 KCAC), surging to a 9-4 lead. McPherson leveled off, though, as Oklahoma Wesleyan responded with an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. McPherson won just one point on serve the rest of the way.
The second set was much more of a back-and-forth affair as the teams exchanged the lead eight different times. McPherson led 19-18, but Oklahoma Wesleyan closed out the set with a 7-1 run to grab a 2-0 lead overall.
The Eagles built a 9-3 lead to open the third set and had to hold on as
Lexi Kite (Thorton, Colo.) racked up six of her 11 kills to pull the Bulldogs to within a point at 22-21. The teams split the next two points, but kills by Ludmilla dos Santos and Emily Hollingsworth ended the match.
Kite finished with a match-high 11 kills, seven digs and three block assists to lead McPherson.
Jessica Sanders (Rhome, Texas) added five kills, an ace, four digs and a pair of block assists, while
Jocelyn Cochran (Newton, Kan.) had four kills, an ace, seven digs and two block assists.Â
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla.) had 14 of McPherson's 27 assists, while
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev.) and
Jamie Siess (Tecumseh, Kan.) added six each and
Sadie Atkins (Altamont, Kan.) had one.
Emily Warner (Wichita, Kan.) had a team-high nine digs.
Charmece King had 10 kills to lead OWU while Chloe Davis and Hollingsworth added nine kills and five digs each. Andrea Novakovic had a match-high 25 digs, while Sydney Garis (23) and Emily Kirchner (20) accounted for 43 of the Eagles' 47 assists.
McPherson has a pair of matches next week, visiting Tabor on Wednesday, October 19, before returning to the Sport Center to host Friends on Friday, October 21.
