Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Shorter Hawks on Saturday afternoon in a five set thriller.
The Warriors totaled 45 kills in the match with sophomore Michaela Andress leading the team with 12. Both Megan Gilliland and Karson Haley had nine kills. Of the 41 assists, Katie Fulton had 20 with Amiyah Spann right behind her with 16. Andress led the team with four of the nine aces.
Southern Wesleyan totaled 114 digs in the match with Michaela Andress leading the team with 30. Faith Paxton (28), Angel Jimenez (26) and Katie Fulton (15) also picked up double digits in digs. The Warriors recorded 21 blocks in the match with Trinity Gibson recording six blocks. Karson Haley, Gracie Wilson and Megan Gilliland followed her with four blocks.
Match Vitals
Set One Final: Shorter 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 14
Set Three Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 17
Set Four Final: Shorter 25, Southern Wesleyan 23
Set Five Final: Shorter 18, Southern Wesleyan 16
Records: Southern Wesleyan (10-13 / CC 7-10) Shorter (15-13 / CC 10-7)
How It Happened
Set One
The Hawks took the first point of the opening set off a service error by the Warriors. Shorter would not relent as a kill by Caroline Sivillis and then a block by Alexis Williams allowed them to take a 3-0 advantage. Southern Wesleyan was not discouraged as Michaela Andress flipped the ball over the net to put the Warriors on the board. Gracie Wilson followed and drilled the ball past the front line for a kill that put the Warriors within one point of the Hawks. Shorter pressed on, but Megan Gilliland and Trinity Gibson got up to block the attack on the net. The Warriors gained their first advantage of the match after a couple attack errors by the Hawks. Karson Haley put the ball in the corner of the court for a kill that extended the Warriors lead to 8-6. Shorter countered as a kill by Emily Crocker and an assisted block by Laila Bernardino and Alley Cole allowed the Hawks to tie the first set up once again. The Hawks continued to press ahead but Gracie Wilson went on the attack once again to put down a kill that put the Warriors right back within one point. Katie Fulton dumped the ball over the net for a kill that put Southern Wesleyan behind Shorter 19-17. However, Shorter pushed on as a kill by Alley Cole allowed the Hawks to take the first set in a 25-21 final.
Set Two
Southern Wesleyan took the first point off a service error by the Hawks, but a kill by Caroline Sivills allowed Shorter to tie the set right back up. Megan Gilliland got the ball down for a kill. The Hawks went on the attack once more, but Gilliland and Trinity Gibson blocked their attack from landing. A bad set by the Hawks and then a kill by Karson Haley allowed the Warriors to extend their lead to 5-2. The Warriors pressed on as kills by Haley put the Warriors ahead by four. However, Shorter challenged right back as Alexis Williams got the ball over the net for a kill and then Emily Crocker and Alley Cole blocked an attack by Trinity Gibson. Angel Jimenez got the ball past the defense for a kill, and then served up an ace to extend the Warriors lead to five points. Gracie Wilson went on the attack, but the Hawks sent it right back over the net. However, Megan Gilliland was there to drill the ball to the ground to extend the Warriors lead to 15-10. Katie Fulton dumped the ball over the net once again to continue the Warriors rally. Shorter countered with kills by Alexis Williams, Victoria Sparks and Emily Crocker, but Southern Wesleyan was not done Angel Jimenez and Trinity Gibson blocked another attack by the Hawks. An ace by Michaela Andress allowed the Warriors to claim the second set in a 25-14 final.
Set Three
Southern Wesleyan attacked quickly in the third set as Katie Fulton served up an ace. Gracie Wilson followed with a kill that put the Warriors on top 3-0. However, an ace by Reaghan Whitlock put Shorter right back within one point of the Warriors. Marysa Ocampo served up an ace, but the Warriors answered right back as Wilson drilled the ball down to the court. The Warriors pressed on as Michaela Andress put down back-to-back kills. The Hawks fought back as Emily Crocker went on the attack, but Trinity Gibson and Karson Haley got up to block her attack from landing. Angel Jimenez collected a set by Amiyah Spann and put it down for a kill. Shorter answered with kills by Crocker and Victoria Sparks. The Hawks would not go down easily as they blocked an attack by Megan Gilliland to put them right back to within three points of the Warriors. Southern Wesleyan did not back down as Karson Haley and Gracie Wilson blocked another attack by Crocker. Faith Paxton served up an ace. Errors on the Hawks end allowed the Warriors to take a 25-17 point victory in the third set.
Set Four
The Hawks blocked an early attack by the Warriors to give them the first point of the fourth set. However, a block by Michaela Andress and then attack errors by Shorter allowed the Warriors to take a 4-1 point lead. Kills by Laila Bernardino and Victoria Sparks allowed the Hawks to tie the set up. Katie Fulton set the ball up for Michaela Andress who put the ball down for a kill. However, the Hawks took the lead shortly afterwards off a kill by Caroline Sivills. The Warriors and Hawks continued to battle as they countered each others' attacks on the net. Megan Gilliland drilled the ball to the ground for a kill that gave the Warriors a 14-13 point lead. Southern Wesleyan pushed on with a kill by Gracie Wilson, and an assisted block by Gilliland and Wilson to take a four point advantage. A kill by Victoria Sparks jump started a four point run that led to a kill by Emily Crocker that tied the fourth set at nineteen points apiece. Trinity Gibson put down a kill to keep the set tied up. However, Shorter would not relent as Caroline Sivills served up an ace that allowed them to take the fourth set in a 25-23 final score.
Set Five
Southern Wesleyan charged out of the gate in the final set of the match as Megan Gilliland put down a kill. Shorter went on the attack, but Gilliland and Gracie Wilson blocked the attack to prevent the Hawks from cutting into their lead. The Hawks were not deterred as Laila Bernardino and Alley Cole each put down kills. However, the Warriors were able to maintain the advantage off kills by Gilliland and Michaela Andress. Alley Cole and Caroline Sivills blocked the next attack by Andress. Shorter went on to tie the set up on a service ace by Victoria Sparks. Southern Wesleyan pressed on with another kill by Andress. Karson Haley got up to block an attack by Emily Crocker, but another attack by Crocker shortly afterwards successfully allowed the Hawks to tie the set up at twelve. A bad set by the Hawks allowed the Warriors to enter the set point scenario, but the Hawks rallied off kills by Crocker and Bernardino to tie the set up once again. Megan Gilliland put down a kill, but a kill off the hands of Laila Bernardino allowed the Hawks to take the final set in an 18-16 final.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will wrap up the regular season on November 12 as they host the North Greenville Trailblazers at 7pm. The Warriors will celebrate their seniors prior to the match.
