Volleyball | 9/27/2018 2:19:00 AM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 McPherson, KS – The McPherson College volleyball team extended their current winning streak 8 matches by earning a pair of wins, at home on Saturday, against Friends University and Randall University.
After going on the road, on Wednesday, and defeating Southwestern College, in a thrilling 5 set match, the Bulldogs were once again stretched to the limit on Saturday by the Friends University Falcons. The Bulldogs took the opening set of the match, with relative ease, 25-18.
Riley Bradbury, (So. Highlands Ranch, Colo.), led the Bulldogs offensively, with 5 kills in the set.
It was back and forth through the first half of the second set. Leading 15-14, the Bulldogs allowed the Falcons to go on a 5-2 run that saw their 1 point lead turn in to a 2 point deficit, 17-19. The Falcons never gave up the lead again in the set, finishing off the Bulldogs 25-21, and evening the match at 1 set a piece.
In the 3
rd set, the Falcons maintained their momentum, in the early going, opening the set on a 5-0 run. The MC ladies didn't panic, but began to chip away at the Falcon lead. Fifteen points later, they had clawed their way back to tie the set 10-10. A few points later, they took the lead 15-14, then went on a 10-1 run to close out the set 25-15. The run was spurred on by the serving of
Skylar Lane, (So. Castle Pines, Colo.), and
Rianne Richard (Sr. Wichita, Kan.).
Facing elimination, the Falcons stepped up their game. Nothing seemed to go right for the Bulldogs, while everything seem to go the way of the visiting team. In the end, the Falcons evened the match again, taking set 4, in convincing fashion 25-10.
The fifth and deciding set was an exciting one. The play nearly even when the teams traded ends, with the Bulldogs clinging to a slim, two point advantage, 8-6. The Falcons regrouped and tied the game at 8, but then back to back attacking errors put the Bulldogs back up by 2, 10-8. The Falcons got a kill on the next point to cut the lead to 1, 10-9, but that would be a close as they would get the rest of the way. The Bulldogs were able to close out the set on a 5-1 run to finish off the Falcons 15-10, and win the match 3-2.
Offensively, there were four Bulldogs who recorded double digit kill totals.
Lexi Kite, (Sr. Thornton, Colo.), led the team with 13, followed by Bradbury and
Bree Wallace (Jr. Wichita, Kan.), with 12, and Leah Seiler (Sr. Fort Lupton, Colo.) who chipped in 11. Collectively, MC recorded 58 kills on 176 attempts with 26 errors, for a .182 attack percentage.
On defense, the Bulldogs tallied 79 defensive digs, and 9.5 blocks.
Jamie Siess, (Jr. Tecumseh, Kan.) led the Bulldog defense with 31 digs, while Wallace set the tone at the net with 5 assisted blocks.
After Friends played Randall University in the middle game of the triangular, the Bulldogs were back on the floor, to finish off the day against the Saints. MC swept Randall, winning 25-13, 25-18, 25-14. The starters played the opening set, but little doubt as to the outcome of the match, the Bulldog coaching staff was able to get their bench some quality time in a varsity contest.
Randall proved to be a pesky opponent, pushing the Bulldog bench in set 2. MC would eventually pull away late in the set, 25-18, but the Saints, hung around until the end. With a full set under their belts, the Bulldog reserves got into a rhythm in the final set, and they ran away with it 25-14.
Alicia Hall, (Jr. Aurora, Colo.), saw time as both a hitter and a setter against the Saints. She ended up, leading the Bulldogs with 6 kills on 16 swings and zero errors, and also tallied 8 assists. On defense, it was Siess, who once again led the team in digs, this time with 20.
Bulldog head coach, Jessic Cleveland, summed up the day by saying "Being #24 in the nation we are a target. Friends did a great job of raising their talent level to take us to 5. They had lots of solid blocks and swings that caught us off guard but we bounced back the fifth set for the win. We are a confident fifth set team with now going 4-0 this season on those matches."
For the match with against the Saints, she added, "Randall was a fun match for us to see what the future of the program holds. The underclassmen did great at executing and keeping the momentum for the win. It was fun to sit back and relax and enjoy the game as a coach."
With the wins, the Bulldogs are now 19-1 overall on the year, and remain perfect in the KCAC at 4-0. They will be back on the hardwood, at home on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, against Ottawa University. The Braves are currently ranked 2
nd in the KCAC standings and are receiving votes in the latest NAIA top 25 poll.
