Bartlesville, Okla. – The McPherson College volleyball team completed their perfect run through the KCAC schedule with a 3-0 sweep of the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles on Saturday afternoon. The win put the Bulldogs at 30-1 overall, and 12-0 in the conference, giving them an outright KCAC championship and an automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament.
With their win on Wednesday over the Avila Eagles, the Bulldogs knew they had clinched at least a share of the KCAC title, but a win on Saturday would mean standing alone at the top conference standings, and just as important, they would finish their run through the KCAC without a loss.
With a lot riding on the match, the Bulldogs handled the pressure of the moment with remarkable poise. They opened the match with a dominating win in the first set, 25-14. They were very efficient on offense hitting .360 with 13 kills on 25 attempts and just 4 errors.
In the second set, they continued to hit the ball well, notching 15 kills with only 4 errors, though this time it took them 44 swings. The Eagles recovered just a bit from the first set shellacking, but the Bulldogs still won convincingly, 25-19.
In the final set, the Eagles were again a little better than in the previous set, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs finished them off, winning 25-20. Overall, the Bulldogs finished with 35 kills on 92 swings with 11 errors. They were led by
Lexi Kite (Sr. Thornton, Colo.), who hit .250 with 8 kills on 16 swings and 4 errors. Defensively, the team had 42 defensive digs and 6 blocks, led by Kite, and
Jamie Siess (Jr. Tecumseh, Kan.) who each had 12 digs, and
Leia Seiler (Sr. Fort Lupton, Colo.) who had 4 solo blocks.
Bulldog head coach,
Jessica Cleveland summed up the day saying, "Today we clinched the regular season champ title and national bid. These ladies have worked so hard for this, consistently showing up to out play all the KCAC teams. I'm proud of their hard work and we want to carry this momentum to the KCAC tournament next weekend."
Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to the KCAC tournament which begins next Thursday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Bulldogs will be the #1 seed, and will receive a first round bye. They will play in the quarterfinals on Friday Nov. 9, at 5:00 pm against either Bethany College (#8) or Tabor College (#9), who play at 12:00 pm on Thursday.
By winning the regular season title, the Bulldogs are guaranteed a bid to the NAIA national tournament. They are currently ranked 17
th in the latest top 25 poll. If they stay in the top 20, they are guaranteed a first round bye at the national tournament.
