NORTH NEWTON, Kan. ---
Lexi Kite (Thorton, Colo.) recorded a double-double as the McPherson College volleyball team posted a 25-20, 25-19, 25-16 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) win over Bethel College on Saturday at Thresher Gymnasium. The win gave the Bulldogs (14-7, 7-5 KCAC) the season sweep over the winless Threshers (0-14, 0-12 KCAC).
The teams came out fairly even in the first set, splitting the first eight points for a 4-4 tie. McPherson forged into the lead, though, behind a 7-2 run to go ahead by an 11-6 score. The Threshers rallied for five of the next seven points to cut the lead to 13-11. Behind the serving of Kite and
Jocelyn Cochran (Newton, Kan.), the Bulldogs extended the lead to 24-15. Bethel staved off five straight set points before a setting error gave McPherson the much needed side-out to close out the set.
The Bulldogs jumped out to 6-0 lead in the second set behind three kills by
Jessica Sanders (Rhome, Texas) and never really looked back. The lead extended to its maximum of nine points at 17-8 before Bethel was able to draw within six with three straight points. The hosts eventually drew to within four at 23-19 before kills by
Leia Seiler (Fort Lupton, Colo.) and Kite brought the set to an end.
It was all McPherson in the third set as the Bulldogs led from start-to-finish. MC led by 10 on a handful of occasions, including at 21-11 before Bethel rallied for five points over a seven-rally span to make it 23-16. The Thresher run was too little, too late, as back-to-back kills from Sanders ended the match.
Kite finished with a 12-kill, 12-dig double-double - leading the team in both categories - while also posting three blocks (one solo). Sanders added 11 kills, an ace, a dig and three blocks (one solo). The pair accounted for over half (23) of McPherson's 41 kills in the match.
Sadie Atkins (Altamont, Kan.) added four kills in the winning effort.
Rhianna Smith (McPherson, Kan.) led the Bulldogs with 12 assists, while
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla.) added 10,
Maci Schlehuber (Hillsboro, Kan.) six and
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev.) five as head coach
Jessica Cleveland was able to make some adjustments to her standard rotation during the match.
Jamie Siess (Tecumseh, Kan.) added seven digs.
Shaela Jenkins led Bethel with nine kills as the Threshers managed only 28 during the contest. Amber Munoz added nine assists, while Taylor Buessing had a match-high 16 digs.
"We had a strong start with Bethel on the second round of conference play," said Cleveland. "We were able to mix up the talent and get more confident. It's a good win when everyone gets to play."
The Bulldogs return home for a pair of matches during Homecoming Week. First up is a Wednesday night matchup with Bethany, followed by a Friday night match with Southwestern. Both matches begin with junior varsity at 5:30 p.m. followed by varsity at 7 p.m. The week concludes Saturday with a trip to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to face Oklahoma Wesleyan University in a 2 p.m. match.
