BELLEVUE, Neb. — The McPherson College Bulldogs opened their 2024 campaign Friday afternoon (Aug. 23) with a pair of convincing wins at the GoSarpy.com Tournament in Bellevue, Neb. The Bulldogs knocked off the No. 21-ranked Montana Tech Orediggers 3-0 before sweeping the John Brown Golden Eagles.
GAME ONE — McPherson 3, Montana Tech 0
The Bulldogs got off to a hot start, opening up a 17-10 lead in the first set, but the Orediggers offense rallied with seven straight points to level the score.
But from there, rattled off eight of the next 11 points, capped off by a kill by Enya Fierens to put MC on top 1-0 for the match.
The Bulldogs held the Orediggers to a .028 attacking percentage in the opening set.
Montana Tech jumped out to an 18-14 advantage in the second frame to force a McPherson timeout, but again the Bulldogs closed on a hot streak, scoring nine of the final 11 points to win 25-22 and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs finished the second set with a staggering .552 hitting percentage and just one attacking error.
Looking for the sweep, the Bulldogs trailed briefly at 7-5 before opening up a huge 20-12 advantage. Again, it was Fierens who finished things off for McPherson.
It was a balanced offensive attack for the Bulldogs, who hit .349 as a team. Katie Warden led the way with 10 kills in her first competition in a Bulldog uniform, while Fierens and Brooke McHale each added nine kills. Raegan Murphy and Katelyn Brogan each finished 19 assists.
Celestina Retumban returned from an injury that sidelined her for her entire freshman season to finish with 17 digs, while McHale added 14 digs.
GAME TWO — McPherson 3, John Brown 0
The Bulldogs carried that momentum into the second match of the day, hitting .295 as a team and holding the Golden Eagles to a .073 attacking percentage. Three Bulldogs finished with a hitting percentage of above .400. Additionally, the Bulldogs finished with nine blocks.
MC never trailed in the opening set en route to a 25-21 set win to take an early lead.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second frame, but the Bulldogs battled back to knot the score at 8-8. The teams went back-and-forth until the Bulldogs flexed their muscles late to grab the 25-19 win.
That offensive tear carried into the third set, grabbing control early to lead 15-5. John Brown had no answer as MC cruised to a 25-16 win and their second sweep of the day.
Daniela Jimenez led the Bulldogs with 11 kills while, Fierens, Warden, and Hadley Waldren each finished with eight kills. Murphy finished with 18 assists, while Retumban anchored the back row with 14 digs.
The Bulldogs will wrap up the trip to Nebraska tomorrow (Aug. 24), taking on Grand View at 11:30 a.m. before squaring off against Doane at 4:30 p.m.
