McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College volleyball team improved to 15-8 overall and 11-6 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 sweep over visiting Bethel College Wednesday night at the Sport Center.
McPherson head coach
Jessica Cleveland was able to go a little deeper down her bench in the contest as 16 players saw action for the Bulldogs. That figure doesn't include
Lexi Kite (Thornton, Colo., Prairie View HS), who was held out in order to get her some rest. Others in McPherson's regular rotation played only one or two sets.
The Bulldogs scored four of the first five points of the match, but the Threshers (4-17, 2-15 KCAC) countered with consecutive points to cut the deficit to just one. After trading side-outs, McPherson used a 14-5 run to build a 10-point lead. Bethel cut the advantage to seven at 21-14, but the Bulldogs scored four of the last five points and closed out the set on a
Mady Woog (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) kill.
The second set opened the same way as McPherson staked a small early lead only to see Bethel cut the lead back to one. The Bulldogs were not as quick to pull away in the second frame, though, but eventually put together a 13-4 run an 8-7 lead into a 21-11 advantage. A 5-2 Thresher run cut the lead to 23-16, but
Keisha England (Tulsa, Okla., Berryhill HS) closed out the set with a kill and a solo block.
McPherson conceded the opening point of the third set but score 11 of the next 13 to take an 11-3 lead. Bethel rallied to cut the lead to just five at 14-9 but would get no closer as a 7-3 Bulldog run put the set out of reach. The Threshers scored seven of the final 11 points, but McPherson was slowly able to get the points they needed to end the match.
The Bulldogs hit .272 as a team, making only nine attack errors in the match.
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo., Pinecreek HS) posted a .800 attack percentage on nine kills with just one error in 10 total attacks. England had a .714 attack percentage with five kills on seven attacks without an error and had a solo block.
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo., Pinecreek HS) matched Sombers with a team-high nine kills. She and Woog each had a pair of block assists.
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla., Paul J. Hagerty HS) had a team-best 16 assists with a kill, two aces and five digs.
Morgan Abbott (Decatur, Texas, Boyd HS) added 10 assists.
Rianne Richard (Wichita, Kan., Neosho CC) had 17 digs and a pair of aces.
Alejandra Galindo (Roma, Texas, Roma HS) also had a pair of aces as the Bulldogs posted eight in the match.
Abby Kurtzer had a match-high 10 kills to lead Bethel. Katie Neira added seven and also had four digs. Libero Rachel Bustillos had a match-high 23 digs, while Kelsie Anderson just missed a double-double with 25 assists, nine digs and four kills. Avery Myatt chipped in with six kills and seven digs.
"Tonight was a clean sweep for us," said Cleveland. "Our offense really stepped it up after a weekend where we were lacking in spots. I was able to play everyone and watch them succeed. It was a very relaxed game as we continue to recover from the (KCAC Fall Fling)."
The Bulldogs make the short trip to Hillsboro on Friday to face Tabor College in a late afternoon matchup. First serve for the junior varsity match is 3:30 p.m. with the varsity to follow at 5 p.m.
