SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. — Southwestern (Kan.) opened its 2025 volleyball season with a split Friday at the John Brown Classic, falling in a four-set heartbreaker to Paul Quinn (Texas) before bouncing back with a straight-set sweep of Philander Smith (Ark.).

The Moundbuilders (1-1) dropped the opener 25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 34-32 against Paul Quinn despite a career outing from outside hitter Mikki Johnson, who hammered down a match-high 23 kills while hitting .278 and adding 14 digs. Southwestern battled to force extra points in the fourth set, but Paul Quinn closed it out with consecutive kills to seal the match.

Setter Reece Likes dished out 24 assists and chipped in three service aces, while Ashlyn Tag added 13 kills and five digs. Libero Avery Riedel anchored the back row with 10 digs.

Southwestern regrouped in the afternoon match, rolling past Philander Smith 25-16, 25-23, 25-18. The Moundbuilders hit a blistering .448 in the opening set and finished with 40 kills on a .262 team percentage.

Autumn Bennett paced the offense with 11 kills on .529 hitting, while freshman Macey Collier provided a spark off the bench with nine kills without an error (.818). Johnson remained steady with seven kills and three aces, giving her 31 kills across the two contests. Likes distributed 16 more assists and added two service aces, while Riedel posted a team-best eight digs.

Southwestern outserved the Panthers 10-7 in aces and controlled the match defensively with 32 digs and two team blocks.

The Moundbuilders will continue tournament play Saturday in Siloam Springs, facing Texas A&M- Texarkana at 10 AM and John Brown University at 12 PM.