Florence, SC – Southern Wesleyan falls in four sets to Francis Marion in a 3-1 final score.

The Warriors posted 46 kills with Paige O'Connor leading the team with 19 kills.  Annika Jones led the team with 39 assists while O'Connor went on to lead the team with three service aces.  Southern Wesleyan posted 98 digs.  Shelby Sheets led the team with 23.  Sheets was followed by Anna Hughey with 19, Katie Anderson with 18 and Annika Jones with 14.  Kendall Vallancourt led the team with six blocks in the loss.

Match Vitals

Set One: Southern Wesleyan 25, Francis Marion 20

Set Two: Francis Marion 26, Southern Wesleyan 24

Set Three: Francis Marion 26, Southern Wesleyan 24

Set Four: Francis Marion 27, Southern Wesleyan 25

Records: Southern Wesleyan (7-5 / CC 2-0), Francis Marion (4-6)

Coach Reininga says…

"I'm proud of the teams' effort tonight!  The girls were working hard we just couldn't get things clicking!  Francis Marion is a good team and they played very well."

How It Happened

Set One

Francis Marion struck first in the first set, but a kill by Paige O'Connor allowed the Warriors to take a 3-2 lead over the Patriots.  The Patriots countered to tie the set, but kills by Paige O'Connor and Kendall Vallancourt and service ace by O'Connor gave the Warriors an 8-6 advantage over the Patriots.  Southern Wesleyan pulled further ahead on kills by Davis Hendricks and Paige O'Connor to take a five point lead to bring the score to 15-10.  However, Francis Marion pulled ahead, but their lead was short lived as a kill by Annika Jones gave the Warriors a 20-19 point lead.  A kill by Olivia Johnson and errors by Patriot players gave the Warriors a 25-20 point victory.

Set Two

Like the first set, Francis Marion struck first to take a 2-0 lead over southern Wesleyan.  The Warriors struck back with kills by Kendall Vallancourt and Olivia Johnson to come to 7-10 behind the Patriots.  Attack errors and a kill by Vallancourt allowed the Warriors to tie the Patriots 18-18.  Despite kills by Shelby Sheets and Paige O'Connor, Francis Marion won the second set 26-24.

Set Three

The Patriots took a 2-0 point lead in the third set before the Warriors were able to put points on the board.  Attack errors by Francis Marion players and a kill by Shelby Sheets gave the Warriors a 5-3 advantage.  Kills by Paige O'Connor and Shelby Sheets brought the Warriors lead to 10-9.  Despite kills by Paige O'Connor, Liz Kuntz and Kendall Vallancourt, Francis Marion won the third set 26-24.

Set Four

Southern Wesleyan struck first in the fourth set of the evening to take a 2-1 lead on kills by Shelby Sheets and Paige O'Connor.  The Warriors pulled ahead to bring their lead to 9-4 on a kill by Katie Anderson and service ace by Paige O'Connor.  Despite Southern Wesleyan holding an early lead, Francis Marion tied the set and then pulled ahead to take a 27-25 victory.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will next travel to University of Mount Olive to take on the Trojans on September 22 at 7 p.m.  They will travel to Wilson, N.C. to take on the Barton Bulldogs on September 23 at 2 p.m.