Spartanburg, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan rises above the Converse Valkyries in four sets in a 3-1 final.

The Warriors posted 48 kills in the victory, with Paige O'Connor leading the team with 20 kills.  Annika Jones led the team with 35 assists and Katie Anderson led the team with five service aces in the victory.  Anderson went on to record 24 digs.  She was followed by Katlyn Von Ins with 11. 

Match Vitals

Set One Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Converse 9

Set Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 30, Converse 28

Set Three Final: Converse 25, Southern Wesleyan 23

Set Four Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Converse 13

Records: Southern Wesleyan (9-7 CC 4-2), Converse (3-13 / CC 1-6)

How It Happened

Set One

The Warriors struck first in the first set of the afternoon, pulling ahead on kills by Paige O'Connor and Shelby Sheets to take a 7-0 lead over the Valkyries before Converse was able to put points on the board.  Southern Wesleyan shot ahead with service aces by Katlyn Von Ins and Paige O'Connor to push their lead to 16-3.  Back-to-back aces by Katie Anderson gave the Warriors a 25-9 victory in the first set.

Set Two

The Valkyries rallied back in the second set of the afternoon, score several kills to give them an early 6-2 point lead over the Warriors.  However, kills by Liz Kuntz and Kendall Vallancourt put Southern Wesleyan down three points to Converse and brought the score to 7-10.  Southern Wesleyan tied the set on an attack error by the Valkyries and then pulled ahead to take a 19-18 point lead on an ace by junior Annika Jones.  The Valkyries would not let the Warriors take the win easily, countering every point and pushing the set into extras.  With the second set tied 28-28, an attack error and a kill by Olivia Johnson pushed the Warriors to a 30-28 victory.

Set Three

Converse struck first in the third set, but Southern Wesleyan countered to take a 5-2 point lead on kills by Paige O'Connor and an ace by Shelby Sheets.  Back-to-back service aces by Katie Anderson drove the Warriors lead to 14-11.  Converse countered with scoring nine points to take a 20-18 point lead.  The Valkyries went on to win the third set in a 25-23 final.

Set Four

Southern Wesleyan came back fighting in the fourth set, scoring five points right off the bat on kills by Paige O'Connor and Shelby Sheets to take a 5-2 point lead over the Valkyries.  The Warriors pushed their lead to 11-7 on a kill by Li Kuntz.  Service aces by Katlyn Von Ins and Kendall Vallancourt allowed the Warriors to take 25-13 point victory in the final set of the afternoon.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will return to Tysinger Gymnasium for the five consecutive matches.  They will celebrate Senior Night on October 6 as they take on the Emmanuel Lions at 7 p.m.  They will next play the Erskine College Flying Fleet on October 7 at 2 p.m.