WINFIELD, Kan. – The Southwestern College volleyball team returned to the hardwood for their second Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) matchup of the 2022 campaign on Tuesday evening. It was a home contest, as Stewart Field House was rocking for the squad's first home KCAC contest of the year. Unfortunately, after a strong effort in the opening set, the Builders were unable to match that level of play in the remaining two sets, dropping the bout in three sets to the Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan.

The Moundbuilders' opening set was by far their most productive, as they put away 10 kills in the frame on 39 tries. Their .128 attacking clip was their top performance in a single set in the battle, as they committed only five errors to go along with their 10 putaways. Meanwhile, OKWU had seven errors on 44 attempts, having spiked down 15 of those 44 tries. The first set was a tight battle, but the Eagles pulled away at the end of the set for a 25-21 triumph.

Stanza number two began in strong fashion, as SC was able to stay with the Eagles for the first 12 points of the frame. It was a 6-6 score at that point, before a 7-0 run quickly put OKWU up 13-6. From then on it was all Eagles, as they ended up the set on a major roll, ending the set on a 19-6 run for the 25-12 win. Oklahoma Wesleyan had 16 kills with just four miscues as attackers, while Southwestern had only four kills and committed five errors. The .324 percentage that OKWU put up far outpaced the -.030 clip for the Builders.

In the final set, things did not change much for SC. Even though they ended with a positive attacking percentage in the final stanza, it was only six kills and three errors that they racked up on 39 swings. In the final set, it was a .077 offensive clip that the Builders posted, while allowing 15 kills on 44 attempts by the Eagles. They made six miscues in the set while attacking, putting them at a .205 percentage. The Eagles cruised to a 25-16 final in the last set to take the sweep over Southwestern.

The Builder offense relied heavily upon five attackers, as there were just five Moundbuilders with more than one kill in the bout. Brianna Ede paced the squad with five putaways, as she also led the team with her .300 attacking clip, albeit on just 10 swings. She was followed by Cierra Harrison and Daci Stover who spiked down four attempts. Adeline McIntire and Hannah Weber rounded things out with three kills apiece.

Maela Stevens and Sierra Norlin evenly split 18 of the team's 20 assists by tallying nine each. The other two dimes were distributed by Sophia Wicker and Harrison.

Sophia Wicker, who came into the night as the top digs-per-set getter in all of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), was able to pick up 16 digs in the tilt. She was aided by nine pickups from Norlin and Stevens, as well as seven from Weber and five from Avery Riedel. Those five defenders accounted for 46 of the squad's 52 digs.

After a tough loss at home, the Moundbuilders (4-9, 0-2 KCAC) will return to the road to face another highly competitive opponent in the KCAC, as Kansas Wesleyan University will play host to Southwestern on Friday, September 30 at 7 p.m. The match will be played in Salina, Kan., as SC will be eyeing their first win of the conference slate.

--buildersports.com--