Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan claimed the conference victory over the University of Mount Olive on Saturday in a 3-2 final.
The Warriors totaled 62 kills while posting a .244 attack percentage in the victory over the Trojans. Kaylon Chapman (15), Megan Gilliland (14) and Karson Haley (10) each posted double digits in kills. Gilliland posted an impressive .394 hitting percentage. Of the 60 assists in the match, Katie Fulton picked up 27. Amiyah Spann had 21 assists. The Warriors served up 10 aces with both Fulton and Chapman having four in the match. Calie Covey and Faith Paxton each had solo aces.
Southern Wesleyan accumulated 83 digs during the match. Senior Libero Calie Covey posted an impressive 35 digs during the five set match. Katie Fulton also had double digits in digs as she had 14. The Warriors had thirteen blocks with Briley Wolff and Sarah Mitchell each having three.
Match Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 3, Mount Olive 2
Records: Southern Wesleyan (7-7 / CC 5-5) Mount Olive (7-12 / CC 5-6)
How It Happened
Set One
The Trojans took the first point of the opening set, but a kill by Karson Haley allowed the Warriors to get on the board. Southern Wesleyan took the lead on a couple of errors by the Trojans. Amiyah Spann set the ball up for Haley who got in another kill. A kill by Kaylon Chapman and then an ace by Katie Fulton allowed the Warriors to extend their lead to 6-3. Danielle Parker got in a kill for the Trojans, but the Warriors were able to go on a four point run that was spearheaded by a couple aces by Chapman to give them a 10-4 point advantage. Mount Olive rallied back to come to within one of Southern Wesleyan. However, the Warriors pressed on as Megan Gilliland, Briley Wolff and Haley each got the ball past the Trojans' defense for kills. Mount Olive fought back, but the Warriors persevered as Haley got in a final kill to give the Warriors a 25-20 point victory in the opening set.
Set Two
A kill by Olivia Melvin opened up the second set scoring for the Trojans. However, the Warriors quickly answered with a kill by Briley Wolff. Mount Olive pressed on as Rachel Clark served up an ace to allow the Trojans to take a 5-2 point lead. Southern Wesleyan challenged right back as a kill by Karson Haley kicked off a four point scoring run by the Warriors to put them on top by one. The Trojans countered with a run of their own to put them back ahead of Southern Wesleyan. Katie Fulton set the ball up for Sarah Mitchell who got the ball down once again. More kills by Ainsley Stovall and Megan Gilliland allowed the Warriors to tie the set up at ten. Back-to-back aces by Kaylon Chapman gave the Warriors the lead. The Trojans continued to challenge, but the Warriors were able to maintain their three point lead on a kill by Briley Wolff. Amiyah Spann set the ball up into the air and Karson Haley drilled it down past the defense. An ace by Rachel Clark put the Trojans back within one point of Southern Wesleyan. However, the Warriors pushed on as Sarah Mitchell blocked an attack by Danielle Parker to give the Warriors a 25-22 point victory in the second set.
Set Three
Mount Olive opened up the third set with a three point run to give them the early lead. Karson Haley got down another kill to put the Warriors on the board. Rachel Clark served the ball over the net. Kaylon Chapman collected the ball and sent it right back over the net before the Trojans could react for a dump kill. Kills by Kaitlyn Landis and Danielle Parker allowed the Trojans to take a 5-3 point lead. Southern Wesleyan tied the set up as Megan Gilliland got in a kill. Katie Fulton served up another ace to give the Warriors their first lead of the set. The lead was short lived as a kill and then an ace by Kacey Gore put the Trojans back on top. Mount Olive would not relent as Katilyn Landis and Olivia Melvin got down a couple more kills. A kill by Landis jumped off a nine point run for the Trojans. Mount Olive claimed the third set in a 25-16 final.
Set Four
Southern Wesleyan charged out of the gate in the fourth set of the match. Faith Paxton served up and ace and then Megan Gilliland laid down a kill to give the Warriors 3-0 lead. The Trojans challenged as Caroline Sheaffer served up an ace. However, the Warriors would not back down as Calie Covey got down an ace of her own. Kaylon Chapman got in a kill, but Mount Olive answered with kills by Kaitlyn Landis and Ashlyn Haynie. Amiyah Spann set the ball up for Briley Wolff who drilled the ball down past the Trojans for a kill to give the Warriors a three point lead. Mount Olive would not relent as they went on a five point run that was spearheaded by Danielle Parker to give them the lead. Megan Gilliland got in a kill to tie the set back up at thirteen. The Trojans pressed on as Lyndsay Reid served up back-to-back aces. Mount Olive took the fourth set in a 25-19 final to force a fifth set.
Set Five
Katie Fulton kicked off the final set of the match by dumping the ball over the net for a kill. Fulton went on to serve up back-to-back aces to extend the Warriors lead to 3-0. Southern Wesleyan continued to distance themselves as Kaylon Chapman and Megan Gilliland each got in kills. The Trojans challenged as Kaitlyn Landis laid down some kills. A kill by Karson Haley allowed the Warriors to distance themselves more from the Trojans. Mount Olive tied the set up as Kacey Gore got in a kill, but then a kill off the hands of Karson Haley allowed the Warriors to take a two point lead. Southern Wesleyan would not relent as Ainsley Stovall got in a kill off a pass by Calie Covey to give the Warriors a 15-10 point victory over the Trojans.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will welcome the Emmanuel Lions to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on October 14 at 7pm. They will then enter a two game road trip where they will first take on the Ferrum Panthers on October 17 before traveling to Young Harris, GA on October 22 to take on the Young Harris Mountain Lions. The Warriors will host the Lees-McRae Bobcats on October 24.
