BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Lexi Kite (Thornton, Colo., Prairie View HS) posted a 16-kill, 10-dig double-double to lead the McPherson College volleyball team to a 29-27, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play Wednesday night at the Mueller Sports Center.
The Eagles (10-6, 6-2 KCAC) used an early run to forge a 17-13 lead in the opening frame. The Bulldogs (9-5, 5-3 KCAC) charged back to grab a 25-24 lead with
Kaitlyn Heinis (Oviedo, Fla., Paul J. Hagerty HS) serving for the set. OKWU got the sideout to stay alive, then won the following rally to give themselves a chance at set point and force a McPherson timeout.
The Bulldogs responded out of the timeout with four of the next five points to take the set, 29-27.
McPherson rode the momentum from the first set to a 15-7 lead to start the second set. Oklahoma Wesleyan charged back with a 13-3 run to take a 20-18 lead before the Bulldogs used a 7-2 run of their own to retake the lead and pull away for the four-point win.
The Eagles opened the third set with three of the first four points, but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run to take a lead that would be tested by OKWU but never relinquished. The dagger came when, leading 18-17, McPherson rattled off five straight points - including two aces - on the serve of
Rianne Richard (Wichita, Kan., Neosho CC). The Eagles were able to get the sideout, but the teams traded points to close out the match.
In addition to Kite's solid night,
Bree Wallace (Wichita, Kan., East HS) posted nine kills and a career-best five blocks (one solo).
Mady Woog (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Mountain Vista HS) matched Wallace's five blocks (one solo) and also had three kills, while
Devrie Sombers (Colorado Springs, Colo., Pinecreek HS) had five kills and two aces. Richard finished with three aces and seven digs,
Jamie Siess (Tecumseh, Kan., Shawnee Heights HS) added a team-high 12 digs and
Morgan Little (Las Vegas, Nev., Hutchinson CC) had a team-best 22 assists.
Kenadee Valdez led Oklahoma Wesleyan with 13 kills and four blocks (one solo) while hitting .619 overall, while Chloe Davis added 11 kills and 11 digs. Sydney Garis had 38 assists, hitting the 2,000 career assists mark midway through the second set.
"[It was a] solid sweep for us against a team that were evenly matched up with, statistically," said head coach
Jessica Cleveland. "Kite led the way with a double-double. Wallace chipped in with a great game on both sides of the ball, and [Mady] Woog had a lot of game-changing blocks for us."
Kite surpassed 800 career kills in the match. She now sits at 813 headed into the weekend. Heinis also hit 800 career assists (804).
The Bulldogs make the short trip to North Newton on Friday evening to face Bethel College (3-10, 1-7 KCAC) before taking the rest of the weekend off from competition. First serve for the junior varsity match is slated for 5:30 p.m. with the varsity match to follow at 7 p.m.
