Banner Elk, NC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Belmont Abbey Crusaders in the first round of the tournament in a 3-2 final to advance to the game against the Lees-McRae Bobcats. Against the Bobcats, the Warriors performed the reverse sweep to claim a 3-2 victory and advance to the Conference Carolinas Quarterfinals.
The Warriors hit .155 in the first match of the game while totaling 54 kills. Freshman Kaylon Chapman led the team with 11 kills while Karson Haley was right behind her with 10. Of the 48 assists, Amiyah Spann totaled 18 with Katie Fulton following with 16. The Warriors served up six aces in the first match of the afternoon. Chapman picked up two aces. Defensively, the Warriors had 92 digs. Libero Calie Covey had 35. Katie Fulton (15), Kaylon Chapman (13) and Amiyah Spann (11) also had double digits in digs. Southern Wesleyan blocked 19 attacks by the Crusaders with freshman Briley Wolff being apart of seven.
Southern Wesleyan hit .152 in their second match of the afternoon. Kaylon Chapman led the Warriors once again as she had 19 kills in the match. Both Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff had 10 kills each. Katie Fulton totaled 23 of the 49 assists. She was followed by Amiyah Spann with 16 assists. Four Warriors picked up service aces. Defensively, the Warriors had 97 digs with five players posting double digits. Both Calie Covey and Katie Fulton had 23 digs. Kaylon Chapman (18), Michaela Andress (11) and Amiyah Spann (10) also had double digits in digs. The Warriors blocked 13 attacks by the Bobcats with Briley Wolff leading the team with four.
Match Vitals
Southern Wesleyan vs Belmont Abbey
Set One Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Belmont Abbey 21
Set Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Belmont Abbey 17
Set Three Final: Belmont Abbey 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Four Final: Belmont Abbey 25, Southern Wesleyan 22
Set Five Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, Belmont Abbey 10
Southern Wesleyan vs Lees-McRae
Set One Final: Lees-McRae 26, Southern Wesleyan 24
Set Two Final: Lees-McRae 25, Southern Wesleyan 22
Set Three Final: Southern Wesleyan 28, Lees-McRae 26
Set Four Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Lees-McRae 22
Set Five Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, Lees-McRae 12
Records: Southern Wesleyan (15-12 / CC 11-9) Belmont Abbey (11-17 / CC 7-13) Lees-McRae (13-18 / CC 12-8)
How It Happened
Southern Wesleyan vs Belmont Abbey
Set One
The Warriors went on the attack quickly in the opening set against Belmont Abbey as Megan Gilliland got in a kill off a pass from Calie Covey. A kill by Renata Bolado allowed the Crusaders to tie the set up. Ainsley Stovall drilled the ball down for a kill that started a four point run for the Warriors to give them a 5-1 point advantage. The Crusaders attempted to fight back, but attacks by Ava Brown and Bolado ended in errors. Amiyah Spann set the ball up to Karson Haley who drilled it past the Belmont Abbey defense to allow the Warriors to maintain their five point lead. Belmont Abbey answered as Chloe Lowder and Emma Youngblood blocked an attack by Kaylon Chapman. Briley Wolff served up her first ace of the match, but the Crusaders continued to attack as Youngblood got in a kill. Southern Wesleyan pushed on as Karson Haley got in a kill and then Kaylon Chapman served up an ace. Bolado went on the attack once again, but Briley Wolff and Megan Gilliland got up to block her attack at the net. Belmont Abbey continued to go on the attack as an ace by Bolado allowed them to tie the set up at eighteen. Sarah Mitchell blocked another attack by Lola Sultenfuss to help the Warriors claim the first set in a 25-21 final.
Set Two
The Crusaders were the first on the board in the second set as Renata Bolado got in a kill. However, a kill by Katie Fulton allowed the Warriors to tie the set up. Southern Wesleyan took their first lead of the set on the third point of the match as Megan Gilliland drilled the ball past the Crusaders. Belmont Abbey would not relent as Chloe Lowder and Katie Brookins blocked an attack by Megan Gilliland. The Warriors continued to fight as Briley Wolff got the ball down off a pass from Fulton for a kill. Belmont Abbey answered as Chloe Lowder was able to get the ball past the Warriors to put the Crusaders within one. However, Briley Wolff and Karson Haley got up to block the next attack by Katie Brookins. An attack error by the Crusaders kicked off a six point run for the Warriors that included an ace by Fulton and kills by Sarah Mitchell and Kaylon Chapman to allow the Warriors to take the second set of the match in a 25-17 final.
Set Three
The Warriors were first on the board in the third set as Emma Youngblood had a service error. Southern Wesleyan pressed on with kills by Sarah Mitchell and Briley Wolff to extend their lead to 5-1. Belmont Abbey's Chloe Lowder and Adeline Mezzanotte blocked the next attack by Wolff, however, to put the Crusaders back within one. Sarah Mitchell, Kaylon Chapman and Megan Gilliland got down a couple more kills, but the Crusaders answered as a kill by Sara Sass led to a four point run by Belmont Abbey to tie the set up at thirteen. The Crusaders pressed on as Kyleigh Coghlan served up an ace. A kill off the hands of Jordan Medina allowed the Crusaders to claim set three in a 25-21 final.
Set Four
Belmont Abbey would not relent as they went on the attack early in the fourth set with kills by Chloe Lowder and Lola Sultenfuss. However, a kill and service ace by Kaylon Chapman allowed the Warriors to tie the set up. Ainsley Stovall got down a couple more kills. Kills by Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff put the Warriors on top by three. Belmont Abbey countered each of the Warriors attacks on the net to come to within one point of Southern Wesleyan. Sultenfuss drilled the ball past the Warriors off a pass by Emma Youngblood. The Crusaders tied the set up at fourteen on another kill by Jordan Medina. The Crusaders pressed on Lowder and Mezzanotte blocked an attack on the net. Another kill by Medina allowed the Crusaders to claim set four in a 25-22 final.
Set Five
In the fifth set of the match, the Crusaders were first on the board as Lola Sultenfuss got down an early kill. However, an ace by Alexxis Wader allowed the Warriors to take the lead. Belmont Abbey regained the lead as Emma Youngblood got in a kill. Southern Wesleyan would not relent as kills by Karson Haley and Ainsley Stovall put the Warriors on top. Stovall and Briley Wolff got up and blocked an attack by Sultenfuss. Mallory Swain served up an ace for the Crusaders, but it was not enough as Megan Gilliland and Stovall got down several more kills to allow the Warriors to claim the set in a 15-10 point victory.
Southern Wesleyan vs Lees-McRae
Set One
The Bobcats were first on the board in the opening set as Rebecca Ryan got the ball down for a kill. However, the Warriors answered as kills by Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff gave Southern Wesleyan a 3-1 point lead. Lees-McRae fought back as Sydney Stigler got down several kills and then Karoline Springman and Clara Duarte blocked another attack by Gilliland. Stigler delivered several more kills, but the Warriors answered with a kill by Kaylon Chapman to give them a 12-11 point lead. The lead was short lived as the Bobcats fought back with kills off the hands of Izadora Rosin, Stigler and Duarte. A setting error by the Bobcats allowed the Warriors to tie the set up a twenty-three. Lees-McRae pressed on as they claimed set one in a 26-24 final.
Set Two
Sydney Stigler opened up the second set by getting the ball down for a kill. The Bobcats maintained the pressure with kills by Clara Duarte to extend their lead to 3-1. Southern Wesleyan would not go down easily as Sarah Mitchell and Megan Gilliland got up to block an attack by Karoline Springman. Brooke Ashkenase served up an ace. Kills off the hands of Ainsley Stovall and Karson Haley allowed the Warriors to come to within three points of the Bobcats. However, Lauren Newcomer followed with back-to-back service aces to extend the Bobcats lead to 19-12. Stovall and Wolff blocked another attack by the Bobcats, but it was not enough as Lees-McRae took the second set in a 25-22 final score.
Set Three
An opening ace by Sydney Stigler put the Bobcats on the board first in set three. However, the Warriors answered right back as Michaela Andress got in a kill. Lees-McRae tied the set up on a kill by Clara Duarte, but kills by Kaylon Chapman and Andress allowed the Warriors to regain the lead once again. Southern Wesleyan would not relent as Karson Haley drilled the ball past the Bobcats for a kill. Kills by Chapman, Andress and Megan Gilliland allowed the Warriors to extend their lead to 12-8. The Bobcats fought back as they got down kills off the hands of Sydney Stigler and Karoline Springman. Katie Fulton set the ball up to Briley Wolff who flicked it past the Bobcats defense. Lees-McRae was on the hunt for a three set victory as a kill by Stigler tied the set up at twenty-five points each. Southern Wesleyan fought back though as Karson Haley and Briley Wolff blocked the next attack by Stigler. Briley Wolff drilled the ball down for a kill to allow the Warriors to claim set three in a 28-26 final.
Set Four
The Bobcats came out of the gate hot in the fourth set as Rebecca Ryan and Clara Duarte got down kills. Southern Wesleyan answered right back with kills by Kaylon Chapman and Megan Gilliland. Back-to-back kills off the hands of Briley Wolff put the Warriors within one point of the Bobcats. Lees-McRae got a couple more points on the board before a service ace by Kaylon Chapman tied the fourth set up at sixteen. Karson Haley was able to get in a kill to keep the Warriors on top. A series of errors by the Bobcats and an ace off the hands of Katie Fulton gave Southern Wesleyan a 22-19 point lead. Lees-McRae was able to tie the set up once again as Stigler got in yet another kill. However, the Warriors would not back down as Megan Gilliland drilled the ball past the defense to give the Warriors a 25-22 point victory in the fourth set.
Set Five
With the match pushed into the fifth set, a kill by Layla Reinbolt allowed the Bobcats to strike first. Megan Gilliland got the ball down for a kill to tie the set up. Sydney Stigler went on the attack once again for Lees-McRae, but Briley Wolff and Gilliland were there to block her attack on the net. Kaylon Chapman got in a couple of kills to give the Warriors the lead. However, Stigler followed with an ace to keep the Bobcats within one. Addi Stables delivered back-to-back kills to tie the final set of the match up at nine. In the final play of the set, Kaylon Chapman drilled the ball down past the Bobcats to allow the Warriors to take the final set in a 15-12 and complete the reverse sweep of Lees-McRae.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Bristol, TN on November 21 to take part in the Conference Carolinas Quarterfinals where they will take on the North Greenville Trailblazers at 5pm.
