Volleyball Efficient in Sweep of Bethany

McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College volleyball team seemed to be running on all cylinders Wednesday night against rival Bethany College, sweeping their northern county neighbor, 25-10, 25-13, 25-23, in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) match at the Sport Center.

McPherson (12-6, 8-4 KCAC) used an early 6-1 run to set the tone in the first set. Bethany (5-15, 4-8 KCAC) responded to cut the lead to just three at 8-5, but the Bulldogs rattled off the next eight points and closed out the set on a 17-5 run capped by a block by Lexi Kite (Thornton, Colo., Prairie View HS).

The Swedes were able to keep pace to open the second set, trailing by just two at 9-7 before a Bethany ball-handling error ended a marathon rally that saw 10 different attacks. That seemed to spell doom for the visitors from Lindsborg in the second set. McPherson took the next two points as well and, while the Swedes took three of four points at one stretch, the Bulldogs finished out the set with a 12-3 run.

Bethany seemed reenergized by the intermission, kicking off the third set with a 5-1 run. McPherson rallied with a 6-1 run to turn a 9-7 deficit into a 13-10 lead, but the Bulldogs couuld not pull away as they had in the first two sets. The Swedes capped off a 6-2 run with a Conner Stolley ace to take a 20-19 lead. McPherson would not back down, though, getting a kill from Kite and capitalizing on a pair of Bethany attack errors before setter Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla., Paul J. Hagerty HS) dumped the ball into the back corner of the court for a point to put the Bulldogs up 23-20. The teams traded rallies to set McPherson up with match point. Bethany followed with kills from Kim Stringer and Caitlin Boden to cut the lead to just one before a Bree Wallace (Wichita, Kan., East HS) kill brought an end to the proceedings.

The Bulldogs posted nine blocks and a .250 hitting percentage in the sweep. Kite had 14 kills against just one error on 29 total attacks for a whopping .448 attack percentage. She also had eight digs, one solo block and one block assist.

Bree Wallace (Wichita, Kan., East HS) added six kills, a dig, two solo blocks and a block assist, while Mady Woog (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) played a part in five blocks total with a pair of solo stuffs. 

Leia Seiler (Fort Lupton, Colo., Fort Lupton HS) had seven kills and six digs and Wallace added five kills, while Jamie Siess (Tecumseh, Kan., Shawnee Heights HS) posted a match-high 12 digs. Siess also had two assists and an ace. Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev., Hutchinson CC) led all players with 18 assists while Heinis chipped in with 13.

The Swedes (5-15, 4-8 KCAC) managed just 13 kills and sported a negative attack percentage through the first two sets, but rebounded for 15 kills in the third set alone while hitting .184. Azucena Duarte, Natasha Fiame and Stringer each had five kills to lead Bethany. Duarte added a team-high 10 digs, while Boden had two kills, three digs and four blocks (three solo).

McPherson has a busy weekend ahead of itself at the KCAC Fall Fling at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson. The Bulldogs will face the University of Saint Mary at 1 p.m. Friday followed by an 8 p.m. matchup with York College. On Saturday, McPherson faces Kansas Wesleyan at 1 p.m. and Ottawa at 8 p.m. All four matches count towards the KCAC standings and will have huge implications when it comes to qualification and seeding for the upcoming KCAC Tournament, which will also be held at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.