BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Lexi Kite (Thorton, Colo., Prairie View HS) racked up a school-record 27 kills and had 13 digs as the fifth-seeded McPherson College volleyball team advanced to the semifinal round ot the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournanment with a 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 15-13 win over fourth-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University Tuesday night at Mueller Sports Center.
After dropping the first set, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second. A 4-1 run allowed the Eagles to cut the deficit to two at 10-8, but McPherson responded with a 6-1 stretch to push the lead to seven. A kill by
Jocelyn Cochran (Newton, Kan., Pratt CC) gave the Bulldogs a 21-18 lead. Oklahoma Wesleyan rallied to score five of the next six points to get stand just two points from a 2-0 lead. Another kill by Cochran tied the set and put the Bulldogs back on serve. Cochran followed with a service ace before an OWU attack error allowed McPherson to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Bulldogs were limited to just 10 kills and a .128 attack percentage in the third set, while the Eagles slammed home 20 kills against just six errors for a .341 attack percentage as Oklahoma Wesleyan grabbed a 2-1 lead with a 25-18 victory.
McPherson responded in the fourth set, using a 9-2 run to turn a 9-9 tie into a 18-11 lead. Oklahoma Wesleyan scored eight of the next 10 points to cut the deficit to just a single point. Kite registered back-to-back kills to give the Bulldogs a 22-19 advantage and, after a kill by OWU's Chloe Davis, tallied another kill to put the visitors within two points of tying the match. The teams traded the next four points with a Cochran kill being the decider to put the match on level ground.
Oklahoma Wesleyan jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and took an 8-5 advantage into the side change. Three consecutive OWU attack errors tied the score at 8-8. The Eagles regained the serve on an attack error by
Jessica Sanders (Rhome, Texas, Pratt CC) only to give it right back on another kill by Kite. Sanders followed with a pair of service aces to give McPherson an 11-9 lead, but consecutive kills by Ludmilla Dos Santos squared the set. Kite followed with a kill and
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo., Pinecreek HS) and
Leia Seiler (Fort Lupton, Colo., Fort Lupton HS) combined to block an Emily Hollingsworth offering to push the score to 13-11. The teams traded sideouts with Kite regaining the serve for the Bulldogs with yet another kill to set up match point. The Eagles were able to sweat out one match point on a Kite service error, but Seiler ended the match with a kill to conclude a long rally.
Kite finished with 27 kills against just five errors on a whopping 76 attacks for a .289 attack percentage. She broke the single-match record of 26 kills set by current McPherson assistant coach Kiley Loesch against Friends on September 30, 2008. Sanders added 11 kills, three aces, three digs and six block assists, while Cochran had eight kills, an assist and 20 digs and Seiler had seven kills, two assists, five digs and five block assists.
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev., Hutchinson CC) also had a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs, while
Emily Warner (Wichita, Kan., Valley Center HS) added 30 digs and
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla., Paul J. Hagerty HS) had 27 assists and eight digs.
Four Eagles finished in double figures in kills, led by Davis with 16 kills and 10 digs. Hollingsworth added 17 kills and seven digs, dos Santos had 16 kills and Charmece King had 15 kills. Emily Kirchner and Sydney Garis both registered double-doubles with Kirchner posting 37 assists and 15 digs and Garis 30 assists and 10 digs. Andrea Novakovic had 55 digs.
"The girls played with so much heart and they were so determined to win that we were able to pull it off," said head coach Jessica Cleveland. "I am so proud of these ladies and proving the KCAC we can compete. I do believe that we are starting to peak at the right time. We are a balanced team, so we feel strong enough to compete to the end. We haven't relied on one played to carry us through the season."
The Bulldogs (21-11), who set a single-season program record with a 21st victory, will face KCAC regular-season champion and tournament top-seed Ottawa (29-7) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Ottawa. The winner will face either second-seeded Tabor (24-8) or third-seeded Kansas Wesleyan University (23-13) for the KCAC Tournament crown at 7 p.m.
