KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The No. 2 seeded Southern Wesleyan volleyball team won its first matchup of the NCCAA National Tournament 3-0 over No. 7 seed Oakland City on Thursday afternoon. With the win the Warriors improve to 21-6 on the season. Oakland City falls to 16-10 with the loss. 

After not playing in more than two weeks, the Warriors came out firing, winning a close first set 26-24. The Warriors took the second set in convincing fashion, winning 25-16 before closing the match out with a 25-22 win in the third set. 

"It was great to get the first match under our belt," said head coach Julia Reininga. "Oakland came out strong, and I was proud at how the ladies worked through some nerves. The competition here is tough, so I'm looking forward to some great volleyball."

Sarah Hughey led the Warriors attack with 15 kills. Hughey, a senior from Liberty, S.C.,  leads the team with 429 kills on the season. Paige O'Connor finished just behind Hughey with 14 kills on just 23 attempts for an outstanding .565 hitting percentage. Senior setter Megan Widener paced the offense with an impressive 41 sets. Widener had a defensive impact as well, recording nine digs and four blocks. 

Katie Anderson added eight kills while Shelby Sheets tallied six. Junior libero Milica Stamenic recorded 12 digs in the match. 

The Warrior offense got into a groove as each set progressed. Southern Wesleyan hit .194 as a team in the first set but rallied to hit .382 and .559 in the second and third sets, respectively. 

The Warriors return to play Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Judson (Ill.) in the team's second of three pool play games. Southern Wesleyan will take on Colorado Christian Friday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. and then against Friday night should SWU advance out of pool play to the semifinals.