Volleyball Sweeps Oklahoma Wesleyan on Senior Night

McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College volleyball team wrapped up its 2017 home slate with a sweep (25-18, 25-23, 25-20) over Oklahoma Wesleyan University Friday night at the Sport Center.

The Bulldogs (18-8, 14-6 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) also feted Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev., Hutchinson CC), the team's lone senior, between the second and third sets.

After a back-and-forth opening to the set, McPherson used a 7-2 run fueled by three Leia Seiler (Fort Lupton, Colo., Fort Lupton HS) kills to turn a 5-4 deficit into an 11-7 lead. The Eagles (19-9, 15-5 KCAC) scored five of the next eight points to cut the Bulldog advantage to just two, but Lexi Kite (Thornton, Colo., Prairie View HS) posted three kills and an ace over a five-rally span to help push the lead to 19-13. Oklahoma Wesleyan made one late charge to make it 20-17, but McPherson finished with five of the final six points, including a pair of Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo., Pinecreek HS) kills and an ace by Little, before an OKWU service error ended the set.

The Bulldogs grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the second set, but could not seem to pull away as the Eagles repeatedly countered to tie or take the lead. With the set tied at 20, Mady Woog (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) posted back-to-back kills only to see Oklahoma Wesleyan rally to draw even again courtesy of a kill by Kenadee Valdez and a McPherson attack error. The teams traded points to move the score to 23-all, then Seiler gave the Bulldogs a set point with a kill. After an OKWU timeout, Riley Bradbury (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Rock Canyon HS) closed out the set with a kill off a set by Little.

The third set was close as well with the largest lead early on being the three-point lead OKWU took at 12-9 on a pair of Stephanie Lindsey kills and a Seiler attack error. McPherson responded with three points in a row, forcing a pair of OKWU attack errors before Bradbury ended a long rally with a kill to tie the score at 12-12. With the Eagles leading 18-17, a kill by Kite gave the Bulldogs the side out to tie the score. McPherson won the next five points on Kaitlyn Heinis' serve to take a 23-18 lead before Heinis served the ball into the net. Oklahoma Wesleyan followed with a block to cut the deficit to three points, but Kite picked up a kill and a service ace to end the match.

Kite posted yet another double-double, finishing with 17 kills and 14 digs. She also had a pair of service aces. Bradbury chipped in with eight kills and a pair of digs, while Seiler had seven kills, two digs and a couple of block assists. Woog added six kills, Bree Wallace (Wichita, Kan., East HS) had three kills and three blocks (one solo) and Sombers had two kills and three block assists.

Heinis finished with 24 assists, moving past 1,000 for her career with her first assist in the third set, while also picking up seven digs and two aces. Little, in her final home match, added 15 assists, five digs and two service aces. She remains within striking distance of the 1,000 career assist milestone as well, needing just 35 to hit the mark.

Rianne Richard (Wichita, Kan., Neosho CC) matched Kite with 14 digs, while Reven Bradbury (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Rock Canyon HS) had seven and Jamie Siess (Tecumseh, Kan., Shawnee Heights HS) six among back row players.

Stephanie Lindsey had 10 kills to lead Oklahoma Wesleyan. Chloe Davis added nine kills and 15 digs, while Emily Hollingsworth matched Davis with nine kills and had three block assists. Sydney Garis had 33 assists, and Andrea Novakovic had 25 digs and six assists.

In addition to Heinis' milestone, the Bulldogs reached two others - one individual and one team - during the match. Seiler's two block assists give her an even 100 for her career, while McPherson won its 14th KCAC match, breaking the mark of 13 set multiple times, including last season.

"It's always fun to win on senior night to help make this season memorable for our only senior," said head coach Jessica Cleveland. "[Little] is a major factor to turning this program around so fast. She stepped into leadership roles and held a lot of the team's pressure to win with a new expectation. I'm thankful Morgan brought national junior college volleyball experience to this program. She will be missed and her shoes will be hard to fill next season."

The Bulldogs travel across town Saturday for a pair of nonconference triangular at Central Christian College. McPherson faces John Brown University at 3 p.m. before finishing the day against the host Tigers at 5 p.m.  Two KCAC matches remain on the docket for next week with trips to Bethany on Wednesday, Nov. 1 and Southwestern on Friday, Nov. 3. The Bulldogs have locked themselves into a top-five league finish as they lead current No. 6 Bethany by four games in the loss column with two to play.