Volleyball | 8/22/2019 11:13:00 PM
The McPherson College volleyball team's bid for a return trip to the NAIA national tournament final site begins this weekend. The Bulldogs, who finished 2018 at 34-4 and regular season champs, will get the 2019 season underway on Friday morning when they take on the Morningside Mustangs (Iowa) as part of the KCAC Fall Fling at the Hutch Sports Arena, in Hutchinson, Kansas.
There are 26 schools involved in this years' Fall Fling, all thirteen KCAC schools, and then thirteen more schools from outside of the conference. In addition to playing Morningside from the GPAC, the Bulldogs have also drawn Oklahoma Panhandle State University from the SAC, Randall University (Okla.), out of the NCCAA, and William Penn University (Iowa) out of the Heart of America Conference.
McPherson plays twice each day, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, then at 5 and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Following the opening match with the Mustangs, the Bulldogs will then square off against Oklahoma Panhandle State University in the 1 p.m. match. On Saturday they will take on William Penn first at 5 p.m. and then wrap up the weekend against Randall University at 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs are under first year head coach
Cory Cahill, who spent the past five years as the assistant men's and women's volleyball coach at Lourdes University in Ohio. One of the biggest questions for Cahill and the Bulldogs will be on the offensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs graduated three All-KCAC hitters from 2018, including
Lexi Kite, who was the KCAC Player of the Year.
The well is definitely not dry however, as they return All-KCAC outside hitters
Riley Bradbury (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.), and
Bree Wallace (Sr. Wichita, Kan.), two outstanding setters in
Kaitlyn Heinis (Sr. Oviedo, Fla.) and
Skylar Lane (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.), and the KCAC Libero of the Year,
Jamie Siess (Sr. Topeka, Kan.). Cahill has also brought in a strong recruiting class that includes
Sydney Burton, a 5'11" middleblocker from Stillwell, Kansas, who transferred in from Northwest Missouri State University. Also making some noise in the preseason were returners
Reven Bradbury (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.) on defense, and outside hitter Liz Williams (Jr. Grand Prairie, Texas).
The Bulldogs had a strong week of preseason camp, and they looked solid in their three scrimmages against Sterling, Friends, and Bethany who they will see again in a few weeks when KCAC play begins. This weekend will be a good gauge for Cahill and the Bulldogs. Morningside was 6
th in the GPAC with all five teams ahead of them with 20 or more wins. OPSU was 8
th in the SAC finishing 9-21 overall, and 7-13 in conference play. On Saturday they will take on a WPU side that was 19-15 overall but struggled in conference play, going 6-12 and winding up in 11
th. The Bulldogs' final opponent is Randall who finished 2018 with an overall record of 17-21 and a trip to the NCCAA DII national tournament in Greenville, S.C.
After their four matches this weekend, they will go back on the road the following weekend at a classic hosted by Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. They will play their first of eight home matches on September 4 when they host the Bethany College Swedes at 7 p.m.
You can watch all of this weekend's action at the Fall Fling, online at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/kcac/. There is a fee for watching the tournament games online.
Be sure to check back at
www.macbulldogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on twitter @Mac_Bulldogs and @MacCollegeVB for stats and scores from the Fall Fling, and to stay up to date on everything going on with the rest of Bulldog Nation.
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