Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan dropped a five set heart breaker to the Francis Marion Patriots on Friday evening in a 3-2 final score.
The Warriors totaled 54 kills in the loss to the Patriots. Michaela Andress and Kaylon Chapman each had nine kills in the match. Behind them, Briley Wolff had eight. Of the 52 assists, Amiyah Spann picked up 26 while Lily Clarkson closely followed her with 20. Chapman went on to have three aces.
Defensively, the Warriors had 82 digs. Alexxis Wader led the team with 25 digs. Right behind Wader, Faith Paxton had 17 digs and Lily Clarkson had 12. Southern Wesleyan had 16 blocks. Both Briley Wolff and Sarah Mitchell had five blocks. Kaylon Chapman had four blocks in the match.
Match Vitals
Set One: Southern Wesleyan 25, Francis Marion 20
Set Two: Francis Marion 25, Southern Wesleyan 11
Set Three: Southern Wesleyan 26, Francis Marion 24
Set Four: Francis Marion 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Five: Francis Marion 16, Southern Wesleyan 14
Records: Southern Wesleyan (9-9 / CC 7-7) Francis Marion (17-5 / CC 13-2)
How It Happened
Set One
The Patriots claimed the opening point of the match as Vanessa Blake blocked an attack by Kaylon Chapman. However, the Warriors quickly answered as Sarah Mitchell blocked an attack by Camryn Faggart. Ellie Moore collect a set by Lily Clarkson and got the ball in for a kill and then Chapman served up an ace to put the Warriors on top. Southern Wesleyan continued to attack the net as both Ainsley Stovall and Elise Fulgham got the ball in for kills. The Patriots kept the set within two on a kill off the hands of McKayla Stockwell. Francis Marion fought back to tie the set at fifteen on a kill by Haleigh Kamer. The Warriors would not back down as several more kills by Fulgham put them back on top. Lily Clarkson set the ball up to Stovall who drilled it past the Patriots' defense to allow the Warriors to claim set one in a 25-20 final.
Set Two
Elise Fulgham started the second set for the Warriors with a kill. However, Francis Marion quickly answered as Madilyn Gartner got the ball in for a kill and then served up an ace. The Patriots took a four point lead over the Warriors on a kill by Allison Miller. Miller got in several more kills, but a kill off the hands of Ellie Moore kept the Warriors within four points of the Patriots. Another kill by Miller jump started an eight point run by Francis Marion. The Patriots went on to claim set two in a 25-11 final.
Set Three
The Patriots picked up from where they left off in set three as Madilyn Gartner and McKayla Stockwell each got in kills. Amiyah Spann set the ball up to Briley Wolff who drilled it past the Patriots' defense for a kill. Wolff then served up an ace to allow the Warriors to take a 7-6 point lead over Francis Marion. Kaylon Chapman got the ball in for a kill to jump start a five point run for Southern Wesleyan. Megan Gilliland flipped the ball over the net for a kill to extend the Warriors' lead to five. Francis Marion would not go down easily as kills by Gartner and Stockwell allowed the Patriots to regain the advantage. The Warriors were not done though. Trailing the Patriots 24-19, Sarah Mitchell got up to block the set point by Vanessa Blake. Gilliland and Mitchell got up to block another attack by Francis Marion to put the Warriors within two. They were not done as a kill by Michaela Andress and several service aces by Kaylon Chapman allowed the Warriors to rally back to claim set three in a 26-24 final.
Set Four
Michaela Andress started the fourth set with a kill off a set by Amiyah Spann. Francis Marion quickly answered with a kill by Haleigh Kamer. The Warriors pressed on as Andress got in several more kills and served up an ace to give Southern Wesleyan a 5-3 point lead. Camyrn Faggart blocked Kaylon Chapman's attack on the net. However, Chapman would not back down as she got her next two attacks down for kills to give the Warriors a two point lead. Alyssa Whiteside served up an ace to tie the set back up, but kills by Sarah Mitchell and Megan Gilliland allowed the Warriors to regain the advantage. Faggart looked to go on the attack once again, but Briley Wolff and Chapman were there to block her attack. Haleigh Kamer blocked Andress' next attack. Francis Marion pushed on to claim a 25-21 victory in the fourth set off a kill by Kamer.
Set Five
Francis Marion kicked off the fifth set with a kill by Haleigh Kamer. The Warriors quickly answered as Michaela Andress got the ball down for a kill and then blocked an attack on the net by Camryn Faggart. Another kill by Andress allowed the Warriors to take a 6-2 point lead. Francis Marion fought back with several kills by Kamer to give them the lead. Briley Wolff collected a set by Amiyah Spann and got the ball down for a kill. However, a final kill by Madilyn Gartner allowed the Patriots to claim the final set in a 16-14 final.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will host the UNC Pembroke Braves on October 17 at 2pm. They will then travel to Due West, SC to take on the Erskine Flying Fleet on October 23 before traveling on to Spartanburg, SC on October 27 to take on the Converse Valkyries. On October 30, the Warriors will travel to Franklin Springs, GA to take on the Emmanuel Lions.
