Central, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan took down the Crusaders in a 3-2 final on Saturday afternoon.

Southern Wesleyan posted 56 kills in the victory over Belmont Abbey.  Senior Page O'Connor led the team with 22 kills.  She was followed by 14 kills by Olivia Johnson.  Annika Jones led the team with 45 of the 53 assists in the victory.  Three Warriors posted aces in the victory.  Southern Wesleyan posted 72 digs with Katie Anderson leading the team with 19.  Anna Martin followed by 14, and Annika Jones and Paige O'Connor each posted 10 digs.  Kendall Vallancourt led the team with four blocks in the victory.

Match Vitals

Set One Final: Belmont Abbey 25, Southern Wesleyan 17

Set Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Belmont Abbey 15

Set Three Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Belmont Abbey 15

Set Four Final: Belmont Abbey 25, Southern Wesleyan 15

Set Five Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, Belmont Abbey 12

Records: Southern Wesleyan (15-10 / CC 9-4), Belmont Abbey (13-9 / CC 7-4)

Coach Reininga says…

"I was very pleased with practice this week!  The teams hard work paid off today!"

How It Happened

Set One

The Trojans pushed out early, taking a 2-0 lead.  Annika Jones delivered a kill to cut the Trojans lead in half, but that did not slow Mount Olive as they charged ahead to lengthen their lead to 10-5.  Mount Olive did not stop there, winning the first set 25-17.

Set Two

Southern Wesleyan struck first in the second set, charging ahead to take a 6-0 lead on kills by Olivia Johnson and Kendall Vallancourt.  The Trojans countered, but kills by Olivia Johnson brought their lead to 10-2.  The Trojans countered to cut the Warrior lead in half, but kills by Paige O'Connor and Olivia Johnson allowed the Warriors to take the lead to 14-6.  Southern Wesleyan won set two in a 25-15 final.

Set Three

The Warriors struck first early on just like in the second set, taking a 2-0 lead over the Crusaders.  Kills by Kendall Vallancourt, Liz Kuntz and Olivia Johnson allowed the Warriors to take an 8-6 lead.  They pushed their lead to 15-10 on a kill by Paige O'Connor.  An attack error by the Trojans and a block by Paige O'Connor gave Southern Wesleyan a 25-15 third set victory.

Set Four

The Crusaders countered in the fourth set, taking a 4-0 lead before a kill by Paige O'Connor allowed Southern Wesleyan to put points on the board.  However, Belmont Abbey pushed ahead, taking a 14-4 point lead over Southern Wesleyan.  Southern Wesleyan could not rise back as the Crusaders won set four in a 25-15 final to force a fifth set.

Set Five

Belmont Abbey took a 4-0 lead before the Warriors put points on the board on a Crusader error and an ace by Holly Richardson.  Kills by Paige O'Connor and Olivia Johnson allowed the Warriors to tie the Crusaders 5-5.  The final set when back and forth as each team fought for control.  However kills by Olivia Johnson, Shelby Sheets and Paige O'Connor gave the Warriors a 15-12 victory.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will next travel to Gaffney, S.C. as they take on the Limestone Saints on October 31 at 7 p.m.  They will then conclude the regular season at North Greenville on November 3 at 7 p.m.