WINFIELD, Kan. — Despite a dominant opening set, the Southwestern College volleyball team fell in four sets to Friends University, 11-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24, on Wednesday evening inside Stewart Fieldhouse.

The Moundbuilders came out strong, cruising through the first set behind efficient offense and tough serving. Southwestern hit .417 in the opening frame, led by Autumn Bennett, who tallied three early kills, and Ashlyn Tag, who added two. The Builders served up four aces in the first set and limited Friends to just four kills with a .000 hitting percentage.

However, the Falcons regrouped and capitalized on Southwestern errors in the next three sets to secure the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) win. Friends improved to 18-11 overall and 3-8 in conference play, while Southwestern dropped to 9-18, 2-10 KCAC.

Tag paced the Moundbuilders with 15 kills on a .371 hitting percentage and added three blocks and two service aces for a match-high 19 points. Bennett chipped in 10 kills and three blocks, while Macey Collier was a force at the net with six total blocks and seven kills. Mikki Johnson contributed 10 kills and six digs, and setter Natalie Blaufuss dished out 22 assists, adding three aces of her own.

Defensively, Avery Riedel anchored the back row with a team-high 21 digs, and Kalissa Ortega added 12 more.

Southwestern held a 12-4 advantage in service aces and out-blocked Friends 10-4, but the Falcons' steadier attack—led by Maddy Hildebrand's 11 kills and Natalie Castillo's 10 on .333 hitting—proved decisive in the final frames. Friends hit .217 or better in the last three sets to overcome the early deficit.

The Moundbuilders will travel this weekend to York, Nebraska, to take on York University in their final road match of the regular season.