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Box Score 2
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Southern Wesleyan volleyball split a pair of matches in the Lee University Invitational on Friday afternoon.
The Warriors defeated Campbellsville in the first match 3-0 before dropping a thrilling five-setter to Bryan College in the nightcap. SWU will take on Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. before closing out the weekend at 2 p.m. against Lee.
Campbellsville Match
The Warriors won their fourth straight match in three sets, defeating the Tigers from Kentucky 25-18, 25-20, 25-16. The sweep is the ninth on the year for the Warriors. Sarah Hughey notched her 10th double-digit kill effort with a match-high 13, hitting a robust .571 for the match. She also added 11 digs as she recorded her third double-double of the year.
Teammates Alysia Cruell and Cherilyn Ramsey added 11 kills each as Cruell notched her fourth double-digit kill effort while Ramsey posted her ninth. Megan Widener posted 26 assists while both Courtney O'Brien and Milica Stamenic each recorded 10 digs.
The Warriors broke open a 4-4 first set tie with a 5-1 and never looked back. The lead hit 18-12 on a Hughey block before the Tigers responded with three straight points to bring the lead down to just three for the Warriors at 18-15. SWU reeled off four straight points to end any chance of a comeback as Hughey collected two kills. Ramsey closed out the set with back-to-back kills.
SWU jumped out to a dominating lead in the second set, taking the first five points and 12 of the first 16. A 4-0 run late in the set pushed the lead up to seven at 21-14. After a 3-0 run by CU cut the lead back to four, the teams traded points until Ramsey again closed out the set with a kill.
Again the Warriors took the dominating early lead in the third with a 7-0 run and closed out the set with a 6-0 run that broke open a tight set at 19-16.
The Warriors hit .337 for the match including .438 in each of the first and second sets. The Tigers hit just .121 for the match.
Bryan Match
The Lions snapped the Warriors four-game winning streak in a thrilling five-setter. The Warriors took dropped the first set 25-22 before rebounding to win the second and third 25-21 and 25-21. SWU had a chance to close it out in four but fell 26-24 and then the Lions took the fifth 17-15.
Sarah Hughey recorded a career-high 31 kills and hit .383 for the Warriors but it wasn't enough. The 31 kills top her season-high of 20 in a three-set loss to Lander back on Sept. 16. This was her 11th match in double figures.
Cherilyn Ramsey posted 21 kills, her season-high and hit .275. Her total marks the 10th time she's been in double digits on the season. Megan Widener racked up 51 assists, six kills and six digs on the night while Courtney O'Brien added 10 assists and a team-high 15 digs. Alysia Cruell chipped in with 14 digs and eight kills.
The Warriors hit .263 for the match, better than Bryan's .256 but the Lions hit .229 with 12 kills while the Warriors hit just .167 with 10 kills in the final set. Bryan had 20 kills in the fourth set alone.
Bryan jumped out to a big lead in the first set, leading early at 13-7 and 17-10. The Lions were within a point of taking the set at 24-18 before four straight from the Warriors tightened the set but a kill from Meghan Lowry gave the set to Bryan.
In the second the Lions again broke open a lead at 14-8 but the Warriors were able to complete the rally, reeling off five straight to take a 19-17 lead as Hughey tallied three kills during the run. SWU fell behind early again in the third at 9-5 but Hughey got hot, reeling off three straight kills after one from Jacinta Hoffpauir as the Warriors tied the set at 9-9. The set went back and forth before the Warriors took the final four points after trailing 22-21.
Bryan opened a 7-2 lead in the fourth and again the Warriors scored four straight and eventually tied the set at 10-10. A 5-0 run gave the edge to Bryan but the Warriors were able to keep it close the rest of the way. Three straight from the Warriors tied the set at 19-19 as the teams traded points until the Lions took the last two to take the set 26-24.
The Lions led 13-8 in the fifth but the Warriors wouldn't die, taking four straight to close to within one at 13-12. Bryan had match point at 14-12 but Ramsey and Hughey came up with back-to-back kills to tie the set at 14-14 and after trading points the Lions took the final two to win the set 17-15.
