Salina, Kan. – The McPherson College volleyball team split four games this weekend in a tournament hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University. The Bulldogs opened and closed the tournament with wins, and had two tough losses, to quality opponents, in the middle.
The Bulldogs opened up on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of Southwestern College, in a non-conference match-up. The Bulldogs came out on fire, and dominated the Builders, winning 25-13, 25-22, 25-13. Closing out Saturday, they lost a tough five setter to the Dakota State University Trojans. The Bulldogs won the opening set 25-17, but then dropped the next two sets 25-23 and 25-22. They bounced back to win set 4, 25-22 and force a fifth and deciding set. A tough call midway through the final set seemed to rattle the young Bulldogs and they were unable to recover as the Trojans won the set 15-12.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs opened with the College of St. Mary Flames out of Omaha, Nebraska and the GPAC conference. The Bulldogs had four set points in the opening set, but ultimately ended up losing the set 30-28. They regrouped and pulled out a victory in set 2, 25-18, but couldn't maintain the momentum and ended up dropping the final two sets 25-18, 25-15. After a short break, the Bulldogs wrapped up the weekend on a high note, sweeping the Friends University Falcons in straight sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15.
For most of the weekend, the Bulldogs had five freshmen and one senior in the starting line-up. The newcomers got their first taste of collegiate volleyball, and for the most part they handled the pressure of playing in their first matches well". Morgan Watson (Fr. Loveland, Colo.) led the Bulldog hitters with a .225 hitting percentage with 50 kills on the weekend on 138 swings. Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by their libero Reven Bradbury (Sr. Castle Rock, Colo.), who averaged 5.6 digs per set in 15 sets played. At the setter position, three Bulldogs saw quality minutes. Cynarah Rodriguez (Fr. Amarillo, Texas) led the way with 79 assists for an average of 5.27 assists per set in the Bulldogs' 5-2 offensive system.
Coach Cahill, in his second year at the helm of the Bulldog volleyball program, summed up the weekend by saying, "Overall we had a great weekend. We took some big steps forward and I can't wait to see what we accomplish going forward."
Next up for the Bulldogs is a match-up with crosstown rival Central Christian College at home on September 15 at 7:00 pm.
