Box Score HILLSBORO, Kan. --- The McPherson College volleyball team took the first set but could not maintain momentum in a 23-25, 25-20, 25-11, 28-26 loss at Tabor College on Wednesday.
The first set started out as a back-and-forth affair with a
Jocelyn Cochran (Newton, Kan.) kill tying the match at 9-9. The point kicked off an 8-2 run that saw
Leia Seiler (Fort Lupton, Colo.) with three kills and
Lexi Kite (Thorton, Colo.) two as the Bulldogs (16-9, 9-7 KCAC) built a 16-11 lead. Back-to-back points drew the Bluejays (18-8, 15-2 KCAC) within three at 16-13. McPherson responded with a 6-1 run behind two kills and a block by
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to push the lead to 22-14. Tabor charged back with eight straight points, including five on kills by Tena Loewen, to tie the set at 22-22. Cochran and Loewen traded kills to make it 23-23, but consecutive attack errors by the Bluejays gave the Bulldogs the first set.
The teams opened the second set much like the first, trading points with a Seiler kill evening the score at 5-5. McPherson captured the next three rallies and seven of the next 10 to grab a 12-8 lead. Tabor responded with a 5-1 run to knot the score at 13-13 behind a pair of Loewen kills and a pair of Bulldog ball-handling errors. After trading 4-1 runs, a Loewen attack error gave McPherson a 19-18 lead. The lead would be short-lived, however, as the Bluejays closed out the set with a 7-1 run to even the match at a set apiece.
Tabor dominated the third set, scoring the first nine points. A 4-1 McPherson run cut the advantage to 10-4, but the Bulldogs were unable to win another point on serve in the set. Amy Horner had seven kills in the set for the Bluejays, while Kendra Kroeker added four and Loewen had three kills and an ace. McPherson was held to just four kills and an 0.036 attack percentage in the set.
The third set appeared to be an anomaly as the fourth set was as close as the first two. Trailing 17-16, the Bulldogs scored four straight points to take a 20-17 lead. McPherson conceded back-to-back points as Tabor cut the advantage to just a single point but rebounded to win back the serve on a Horner attack error. Kite followed with consecutive kills to push the lead to 23-19, but the Bluejays responded by winning three rallies in a row. A side-out gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 lead and a set point but Tabor knotted the score on kills by Horner and Loewen. A service error by Horner gave McPherson another set point which was promptly erased by a Loewen kill. That was followed by a Bulldog ball-handling error to give the Bluejays their first match point.
Sadie Atkins (Altamont, Kan.) and Sombers blocked back a Loewen attack to extend the match, but another Loewen kill on the next serve set up another match point. An attack error by
Emily Warner (Wichita, Kan.) ended the match.
Loewen led all players with 30 kills while adding 13 digs, a pair of aces and four block assists. Horner also posted a double-double with 16 kills, 15 digs and four blocks (one solo), while Kendra Kroeker had 12 kills and five block assists.
Ali Jost had a match-high 32 digs, while Haley Falk added 10 digs. Keeley Kroeker (35) and Megan Voth (27) accounted for 62 of Tabor's 64 assists.
The Bulldogs were led by Kite, who had her fifth double-double of the season with team-highs in kills (10) and digs (24). Seiler added eight kills, while Cochran had six kills and 14 digs.
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla.) (16) and
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev.) (10) combined for 26 of McPherson's 30 assists. Sombers added four kills, an ace, two digs and five blocks (two solo).
"We showed up to play against Tabor this time around," said head coach
Jessica Cleveland. "We made a big statement in the second point winning a big rally. Kite carried the team offensively and defensively. We made a lot of big digs against their heavy-arm hitters. We showed a lot of heart tonight but some calls just didn't go our way."
McPherson returns to action Friday evening against Friends University (10-17, 8-7 KCAC) at the Sport Center. The evening begins with junior varsity at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity at 7 p.m. The Falcons swept the Bulldogs, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20, in Wichita on September 21.
