WINFIELD, Kan. – The Southwestern College volleyball team returned to the court on Tuesday evening after a 10-day hiatus. After earning back-to-back wins for the first time this season on Saturday, September 3 at the Friends Triangular, the Builders continued their winning ways in their second home match of the season against Southwestern Christian University. The SC squad earned a 3-1 win over the visiting Eagles to prolong their winning streak and improve their home record to 2-0 this season.

The opening set of the battle consisted of several long rallies, resulting in attacking percentages that were below par for both sides. SCU had it worse than the Builders, hitting at just -.017, while SC converted at a .058 clip to open the tilt. Each side had 10 kills in the set, but SCU committed more unforced errors, with 11. It was a tight fight throughout the opening frame, but the Builders did just enough to hold off a late surge from the Eagles, winning the set 25-23.

Moving into the second set, things started beautifully for SC, as they began on a 12-2 run to start the period. They would end up taking the victory in the set by a final of 25-12, while converting on 15 of their 32 attacking attempts in the period. They hit at an outstanding clip of .281 for the stanza, while holding SCU to only four kills on 25 tries, which was good for a -.040 clip.

The third of four sets was the only period of play that Southwestern did not look like the better team, as they made nine errors while attacking in the frame. Their attacking clip was .000 in the set, as they converted nine kills but also committed the nine errors. The Eagles had their best set of the match, hitting at .128 and downing 12 attempts to win the frame 25-20.

Southwestern would then close the match out on a strong note, as they boasted their best attacking numbers of the game to that point. It was a frame where the Builders had 15 kills on 38 swings, while committing a paltry two errors, en route to a .342 attacking percentage in the final set of the bout. The Moundbuilders would cruise to a 25-14 win in the last stanza to earn the triumph three sets to one.

Daci Stover paced the Builder offensive attack, picking up where she left off at Friends University on Saturday before last. She finished 13 of her 31 attacking attempts, while picking up only three errors, clocking in at a .323 clip as an attacker. The 13 kills led the team, as Stover was followed by Cierra Harrison and Hannah Weber, who each had nine putaways.

Sierra Norlin led the way as a distributor in the matchup, tallying an impressive 27 assists over the course of the four sets of play. She was spelled by Maela Stevens, who racked up 16 dimes in her four sets played.

The Southwestern defense was lights out in the match, holding SCU to just a .030 attacking percentage over the entirety of the tilt. A large proponent of that success was the stellar play of Sophia Wicker, who dug up 36 of the Eagles' attacks in the match. She was followed in digs by Norlin with 17, as well as Kinley Williams with 12 and Weber with 11. The squad also tallied seven total blocks in the battle, as Brianna Ede led the Builders with two solo blocks and a block assist.

Following three consecutive triumphs, the Builders (4-5, 0-0 KCAC) will be looking to stay hot at the Kansas Wesleyan University Triangular this Saturday, September 17 in Salina, Kan. The squad will face off with the Hannibal-LaGrange University Trojans at 12 p.m., and will then play the Coyotes of KWU at 2 p.m. to finish off their day.

--buildersports.com--