Article by Quincy Williams
Hastings, Neb. -- The McPherson College Bulldogs played two matches at the Five Points Bank Classic in Hastings, Nebraska on Saturday. In their first match they squared off with the Roosevelt University Lakers. The Bulldogs quickly collected their fifth win of the season, winning 25-19, 25-19, and 25-18.
The Bulldogs performed nearly flawlessly in the service game only committing three errors to seven aces. For the second match in a row, the Bulldogs also killed the ball effectively with 37 kills to only 11 errors, for a hitting percentage of .230.
Riley Bradbury led the team in kill percentage, going 12 of 26 for a kill percentage of 46%. Very impressive performance by the Bulldogs in the first match of the day.
Statistical Leaders from Match 1:
Kills:
Riley Bradbury (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.) – 9
Aces:
Skylar Lane (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.)
Jamie Siess (Sr. Topeka, Kan.) – Tied, 2
Assists: Lane – 15
 Digs: Siess – 15
McPherson's second match was against the Hastings Broncos. They suffered their sixth loss of the season losing in three sets, 25-12, 25-17, and 25-18.
The Bulldogs got behind in the first set and never fully recovered, despite a better showing in the second and third sets. The Bulldogs finished with more errors on kill attempts than kills, while the Broncos had 41 kills to only 14 errors for a .321 hitting percentage.
Statistical Leaders from Match 2:
Kills:
Bree Wallace (Sr. Whichita, Kan.) – 7
Aces:
Reven Bradbury (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.) – 2
Blocks:
Mady Woog (Jr. Wichita, Kan.) – 1
Assists:
Kaitlyn Heinis (Sr. Oviedo, Fla.) – 9
Digs:
Riley Bradbury (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.) –11
"Overall I am very pleased with our performance today", said Bulldog head coach
Cory Cahill. "We took care of business in our first match and worked through some new looks in our offense. In our second match we did some good things but were overall outmatched offensively. Today was a good step forward for Bulldog Volleyball."
The Bulldogs will have the opportunity to continue to work out the kinks this week before heading back out on the road next Saturday, when they head up to Atchison, Kansas for a pair of matches at Benedictine College.
