McPHERSON, Kan. --- If there's ever a way to grit out a three-set win, the McPherson College volleyball team did just that Saturday afternoon, defeating the University of Saint Mary, 25-13, 25-22, 29-27, at the McPherson College Sport Center.
The Bulldogs (12-6, 5-4 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) had 11 kills without an error and hit .440 en route to a relatively easy first-set win. The Spires (6-12, 4-5 KCAC), by contrast, matched seven kills with seven errors in 24 total attempts for a .000 attack percentage.
Saint Mary jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second set, prompting a timeout from McPherson head coach
Jessica Cleveland. McPherson clawed its way back into the set, cutting the Spires lead to 14-12 on a kill by
Jessica Sanders (Rhome, Texas). USM scored three consecutive points to push the lead to 17-12, only to see the Bulldogs tie the set at 17-17 with five straight points - the last two coming when
Lexi Kite (Thorton, Colo.) and
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) combined to block consecutive attacks by Savannah Fillion. The Spires broke back, taking a 20-18 lead, but the Bulldogs closed out the set with a 7-2 run.
The third set started much like the second with USM grabbing a 7-1 lead and, again, McPherson was able to erase the deficit. It took a little longer than in the second set, though, as the Bulldogs scored three straight points, including two while facing set point, to grab a 25-24 lead. Back-to-back attack errors by McPherson gave the Spires another set point, but a kill by Kite tied the score at 26-26. The teams traded side outs to move the score to 27-27. The Bulldogs closed out the match after Kite ended a pair of rallies with kills.
McPherson out hit Saint Mary, .227-.095, in the match and racked up 10 total blocks.
Sanders led the Bulldogs with 11 kills, a .350 attack percentage and two block assists, while Kite added seven kills, an ace, and three block assists. Sombers was effective at the net, finishing with six kills (without an error), two aces and seven blocks (two solo).
Jocelyn Cochran (Newton, Kan.) totaled five kills and seven digs.
Defensively,
Emily Warner (Wichita, Kan.) finished with a match-high 13 digs, while
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev.) had 14 assists and
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla.) added 13. Both Little and Heinis had six digs.
Fillion had 12 kills and Kaitlynn Lanier 11 to lead the Spires. Whitney Rock had a match-high 28 assists, while Allyssa Koki tallied a team-high nine assists.
"[It was] two solid sweeps this weekend for the Bulldogs," said Cleveland. "Central Christian was a dominant win and everyone on the bench got to play. Everyone played with confidence and it was fun beating the town rival...[Against Saint Mary], it was great to see the mental toughness. They never gave up waiting for the next set. Both middles led the team offensively - Sanders with 11 kills and Sombers hitting a .600. I am proud of our three sweeps in a row and we look forward to playing York on Monday."
The Bulldogs continue their three-match homestand next week with KCAC matches Monday against York College and Wednesday against Kansas Wesleyan University. First serve for the varsity matches both nights is 7 p.m.
