Omaha, Neb. – The McPherson College volleyball team opened up the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic hosted by Bellevue University on Friday with a pair of losses to a couple of top 20 teams.
In the opening match, the Bulldogs took on 10th ranked University of Providence. The Bulldogs went toe to toe with the three time national qualifier but ultimately lost in straight sets, falling 25-23, 25-21, 25-16.
Offensively, the Bulldogs hit .228 for the match, recording 35 kills on 92 attacks with 14 errors. The first set was the Bulldogs' best in regards to total kills, with 14, but they were a touch more efficient in the second set. They hit .278 in set one, but upped that to .300 in the second stanza. Individually the Bulldogs offense was paced by Morgan Watson (So. Loveland, Colo.), who led the team with 10 kills on 23 swings. Sydney Burton (Sr. Stillwell, Kan.) led the team in hitting percentage with a .750, tallying three kills on 4 swings with 0 errors.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs recorded three team blocks, and 35 defensive digs. Moriah Delgado (Fr. Fort Worth, Texas), led the team in digs with 11, and at the net it was Burton who led the team in blocks with two.
In their second match of the day, the Bulldogs drew 16th ranked Westmont College from California. Last Spring marked the 14th time the Warriors qualified for the NAIA national tournament. They showed why they are a perennial national qualifier, dispatching the Bulldogs in straight sets, 25-20, 25-21, 25-18.
The Bulldog offense was not quite as efficient in match two versus the Warriors. They managed eight more kills (43), but also had eight more errors (22) than in their opening match. They finished the match with a .188 attack percentage. Katelyn Moore (Jr. Douglass, Kan.), was the Bulldogs' kills leader with 13, she also had the highest attack percentage at .400.
Defensively, the team recorded 48 digs, but only two blocks. Aidan Brown (So. Sterling, Ill.), and Delgado both recorded double digit dig totals. Brown finished with 11 and Delgado added 10. Emily Leeson (Jr. Bushland, Texas) led the team with two blocks.
Coach Cahill commented on his team's performance against their two nationally ranked opponents saying, "Today we got tested. We played two top ranked teams and saw a lot of good things. We are excited to get back to work tomorrow!"
The Bulldogs will wrap up the weekend tournament in Omaha tomorrow beginning with a 9:00 am match with Dickinson State University and then a 1:00 pm match with the Morningside University Mustangs.
