WINFIELD, Kan. – The Southwestern College volleyball team returned to their home floor for a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) tilt on Tuesday night inside Stewart Field House. The matchup against the Warriors of Sterling College would give the Builders a chance to reach the .500 mark in conference play, and the squad took full advantage with a three-set sweep over the visiting Warriors.

Southwestern continues to show marked improvement over the course of their last few matches. In this bout, the opening set consisted of 14 Moundbuilder putaways, in comparison to just 10 from Sterling. More errors were committed by SC, but just by an 8-7 margin, as they attacked at .158 for the set. Sterling was held to just .091 on 33 tries. The Builders would cruise to a 25-21 triumph in the opener.

Sterling actually had more kills in the second set, though it was the most decisive period in the match for Southwestern. The Warriors had seven more attempts to drive the ball to the floor than SC did, and also hit at a stronger .178 clip. The Builders trailed at .158 for the stanza, converting on 11 of 38 swings and committing five miscues. With all that considered, it was four service aces by Southwestern, along with a pair of Warrior service errors that pushed the Builders in front. Moundbuilder volleyball would win the second set by a score of 25-19.f

The third stanza was a back-and-forth affair, where Southwestern jumped out to a 6-1 advantage through the opening seven points. Quickly, Sterling combatted the strong start with a run of their own, snaring the next 11 points of the match. It was a 12-6 Southwestern deficit, but that would not be nearly enough, as the Builders would rattle off nine of the next 11 points to jump back in front. With a 15-14 lead, SC played evenly with the Warriors for the remainder of play, but managed to finish off the opposition 25-23 to earn the straight sweep.

Hannah Weber continues to cement herself as the go-to outside option for the Builders, as she spiked down 11 kills on 27 swings for a stellar .296 attacking clip. She made just three errors, helping her team stay in every point. Brianna Ede (.182), Cierra Harrison (.188) and Daci Stover (.080) had six kills apiece, while all boasting positive offensive percentages. Jayda Brittenum only attempted seven swings in the match, but she converted on three of those tries and committed zero errors.

On a day where one setter did the majority of the table setting, Sierra Norlin accounted for 25 of the squad's 37 assists. Maela Stevens was the next contributor on the list with eight, as the two setters had less evenly distributed production on Tuesday.

Reigning KCAC Defender of the Week, Sophia Wicker, was the team leader in digs in this one, though she did not reach her typical heights. With limited attacks in her direction, she picked up 16 swings in the match, followed by 12 digs from Norlin and 11 from Weber. Then, Stevens added seven pickups, while Harrison contributed an additional five to the tally, rounding out the list of major contributors defensively.

It is the third straight triumph for Southwestern (7-10, 3-3 KCAC), who is on a massive heater entering the latter half of the conference slate. There will be more home action shortly, as the squad hosts their Senior Day on Homecoming, Saturday, October 15. The match will begin at 7 p.m., with the ceremony occurring beforehand. The Builders will be looking to earn a winning conference record with a victory over the Friends University Falcons.

--buildersports.com--