WICHITA, Kan. — The Southwestern College volleyball team fell to Friends University in straight sets Wednesday night at the Garvey Center, dropping the KCAC matchup 25-18, 25-11, 25-17.
The Builders moved to 7-17 overall and 0-12 in conference play following the loss.
Mikki Johnson led Southwestern's attack with a match-high 12 kills while hitting .214. Charli Richardson added nine kills and nine digs, giving the Builders another strong two-way performance. Haleigh Weber finished with two kills on seven attempts without an attack error for a .286 hitting percentage.
Setter Natalie Blaufuss recorded 13 assists, one kill and two digs, while Ayden Joely Petroff added 10 assists, three kills and a service ace. Brooklyn Milleson contributed nine digs and a service ace, and Hope Thornton finished with two kills and Southwestern's lone block of the match.
Southwestern stayed within striking distance throughout much of the opening set. After falling behind 3-0, the Builders battled back behind Johnson, who delivered three early kills to help tie the set at 5. Southwestern later trimmed the Friends advantage to 15-13 after a service ace from Joely Petroff and a Falcons attack error. The Builders remained close at 19-17 following a Kadance Heumann service ace before Friends closed the set with a 6-1 run to take the opener 25-18.
Friends established control early in the second set, building a 9-2 advantage before extending the lead to 15-3. Southwestern responded with a short run sparked by a Johnson kill, a Milleson service ace and consecutive Friends attack errors, but the Falcons maintained their advantage to secure the set 25-11.
The Builders produced their strongest offensive performance in the third set, recording 14 kills and hitting .184. Southwestern opened with a 4-2 lead behind two Johnson kills and a Joely Petroff kill. Thornton later tied the set at 6 with a kill before Friends began creating separation. Richardson and Johnson continued to provide offense late, but the Falcons closed out the match with a 25-17 third-set victory.
Southwestern finished with 32 kills, 29 assists, three service aces and 33 digs. Friends recorded 31 kills but hit .291 as a team while adding eight service aces and eight total blocks.
Natalie Castillo led Friends with eight kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Erin Cheatum added five kills without an error and contributed five block assists.
Southwestern will return home Saturday, Nov. 7, to face the York University Panthers at Stewart Fieldhouse. The match will serve as Senior Night, with the Builders honoring senior setter Natalie Blaufuss for her contributions to the Southwestern volleyball program. First serve is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
