Box Score Central, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan defeats Erskine in four sets in a 3-1 final.
The Warriors posted 49 kills in the victory over the Flying Fleet on Saturday afternoon. Olivia Johnson led the team with 16 kills. Johnson was followed by Paige O'Connor with 13 and Kendall Vallancourt with 11. Junior Annika Jones posted 45 assists in the victory and O'Connor led the team with two service aces. Southern Wesleyan posted 84 digs, with Shelby Sheets leading the team with 24. Vallancourt led the team with three blocks.
Match Vitals
Set One Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Erskine 11
Set Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Erskine 19
Set Three Final: Erskine 25, Southern Wesleyan 22
Set Four Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Erskine 21
Records: Southern Wesleyan (11-7 / CC 6-2), Erskine (1-15 / CC 0-8)
How It Happened
Set One
Southern Wesleyan jumped out strong in the first set of the evening. Kills by Kendall Vallancourt, Olivia Johnson and Paige O'Connor and two service aces by O'Connor allowed the Warriors to take their lead to 17-2. The Flying Fleet countered to put a few points on the board, but kills by Vallancourt allowed the Warriors to push their lead further ahead. They won the first set in a 25-11 final.
Set Two
The Warriors took the lead first in the second set of the evening on a kill by Olivia Johnson and attack errors by the Flying Fleet. Despite the Fleet putting two points on the board, the Warriors were not thwarted as they scored five consecutive points on a service ace and kills by Kendall Vallancourt and Shelby Sheets. Kills by senior Paige O'Connor allowed the Warriors to take their lead to 15-13. Southern Wesleyan won the third set in a 25-19 final.
Set Three
The Erskine Flying Fleet struck first in the third set and quickly increased their lead to 4-1. The Warriors countered to put two points on the board, but the Flying Fleet surged past. The Warriors and Flying Fleet battled back-and-forth, exchanging the lead several times. Kills by Kendall Vallancourt and Olivia Johnson allowed the Warriors to take a 14-11 point lead. However, the Flying Fleet regained the lead and won the third set in a 25-22 final score.
Set Four
Southern Wesleyan struck hard and early in the fourth and final set of the evening to take a 4-0 lead before the Flying Fleet were able to put any points on the board. Erskine countered to tie the set 8-8, but the Warriors fought back with kills by Paige O'Connor and Annika Jones to take a 12-10 point lead. Erskine pressured, but kills by Paige O'Connor and an attack error by the Flying Fleet gave the Warriors a 25-21 point victory.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will next take on the Converse College Valkyries on October 10 at 7 p.m. They will host their annual Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night during the game. Southern Wesleyan will then take on the North Greenville Crusaders on October 14th at 12 p.m. and then Francis Marion at 4 p.m. the same day.
