Tigerville, SC – Southern Wesleyan battled back to claim a 3-2 victory over the North Greenville Trailblazers on Friday evening.
The Warriors totaled 44 kills in the victory over North Greenville. Micheala Andress and Karson Haley led the team as each of them picked up nine kills. They were closely followed by Ainsley Stovall (8), Briley Wolff (7) and Sarah Mitchell (6). Katie Fulton recorded 16 assists while Amiyah Spann had 15. Andress went on to have three of the five service aces. Both Calie Covey and Spann also had aces.
Defensively, the Warriors were able to pick up 69 digs. Libero Calie Covey led the team as she collected 20 digs on her own. Micheala Andress followed with 15 digs. Southern Wesleyan blocked 12 attacks by the Trailblazers. Sarah Mitchell led the Warriors as she was apart of four of the blocks.
Match Vitals
Set One Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, North Greenville 16
Set Two Final: North Greenville 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Three Final: North Greenville 25, Southern Wesleyan 16
Set Four Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, North Greenville 23
Set Five Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, North Greenville 6
Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-5 / CC 3-3) North Greenville (6-8 / CC 4-4)
How It Happened
Set One
The Trailblazers got on the board early in the opening set as Gabby Rice got in a kill. However, an attack error by North Greenville allowed the Warriors to get on the board. The Trailblazers continued to press as Ellenor Crimmins was able to get in her first service ace of the match. Southern Wesleyan would not back down from North Greenville's attacks as kills by Ainsley Stovall and aces by Micheala Andress propelled the Warriors to an eight point run that allowed them to take an 11-6 point lead. Amiyah Spann set the ball up to Stovall who put down a kill. North Greenville was able to get another point on the board as Samantha Bell laid down a kill. The Warriors answered as Stovall got in yet another kill. North Greenville came to within three, but Andress went on the attack again as she collected a set by Katie Fulton and drilled the ball down to the floor. Briley Wolff and Stovall blocked an attack by Anna Nedwards. Ainsley Stovall got in a couple more kills to give the Warriors a 25-16 point victory in the first set.
Set Two
North Greenville went on a five point run in the second set to give them the early advantage. Katelyn Baxley and Sarah Mitchell were able to block the next attack the Trailblazers made to put the Warriors back within three. The Warriors continued to challenge as Micheala Andress and Briley Wolff both got in kills. The Trailblazers would not back down as Anna Fiddelke got in a couple more kills. Several attack errors by North Greenville allowed the Warriors to come to within three points of the Trailblazers. The Warriors would not relent as kills by Ellie Moore allowed the Warriors to take the lead. Calie Covey got in an ace to give the Warriors a 20-15 point lead. However, North Greenville battled back as a kill by Gabby Rice allowed them to tie the set up. The Trailblazers pushed on as Rice got in a kill to give North Greenville a 25-21 victory in the second set.
Set Three
Once again the Trailblazers went on the early offensive as Gabby Rice and Samantha Bell each got in kills. Karson Haley came in to play in her first set of the season and quickly collected a kill off a set by Katie Fulton. However, an ace off a serve by Macie Genry allowed the Trailblazers to take a 6-3 point lead. Haley got in another kill, but North Greenville continued to push ahead with a kill by Allison Ball. Ainsley Stovall and Briley Wolff were able to block an attack by Reagan Funderburk. Attack errors by the Trailblazers put the Warriors right back to within four. North Greenville pushed on as they went on a six point run to extend their lead to 23-12. Haley Freeman blocked an attack by Ellie Moore which allowed the Trailblazers to take the third set in a 25-16 final.
Set Four
Briley Wolff got in the first kill of the fourth set to give the Warriors the early advantage. A kill by Anna Fiddelke put the Trailblazers on the board. Both teams battled back and fourth as they countered each other's attacks on the net. Megan Gilliland and Sarah Mitchell blocked an attack by Haley Freeman to keep the set tied up. The Trailblazers took the advantage after a couple attack errors by the Warriors, but the Warriors battled back once again as kills by Karson Haley and Briley Wolff put them back within one point of the Trailblazers. With the set tied up at eighteen, Sarah Mitchell collected a set by Amiyah Spann and drilled it down past the diving Trailblazers. Karson Haley got in a couple more kills to allow the Warriors to take the fourth set in a 25-23 final to force the fifth and final set.
Set Five
The Warriors stormed out of the gate in the final set of the match as kills by Karson Haley and Ainsley Stovall allowed them to take a 4-0 point lead. Anna Fiddelke got in a kill of her own, but the Warriors would not relent their attacks as Stovall and Haley each put down more kills. Amiyah Spann served up an ace to extend Southern Wesleyan's lead to seven. The Trailblazers countered with a kill by Samantha Ball. It was not enough as Micheala Andress got in the final kill to allow Southern Wesleyan to claim the final set in a 15-6 final.
How It Happened
The Warriors will remain on the road on October 4 as they travel to Belmont, NC to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders at 2pm. They will then travel to Spartanburg, SC on October 8 to take on the Converse Valkyries. Southern Wesleyan will hit the road to Due West, SC on October 10 to take on the Flying Fleet of Erskine.
