Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Emmanuel Lions on Wednesday evening in a 3-0 final.
The Warriors picked up 44 kills against the Lions with Briley Wolff leading the team with nine. Behind her, Ainsley Stovall had seven and Michaela Andress had six. Amiyah Spann and Rylie Barriger each had 14 assists in the match. Of the three aces, Alexxis Wader had two and Andress had one.
Defensively, the Warriors collected 69 digs in the match. Alexxis Wader led the team with 17 digs. Faith Paxton picked up 13 digs and Michaela Andress had 12. Briley Wolff blocked two attacks by Emmanuel.
Match Vitals
Set One: Emmanuel 25, Southern Wesleyan 23
Set Two: Emmanuel 25, Southern Wesleyan 17
Set Three: Emmanuel 25, Southern Wesleyan 14
Records: Southern Wesleyan (8-7 / CC 6-5) Emmanuel (14-6 / CC 10-2)
How It Happened
Set One
Emmanuel went on the attack quickly in the opening set as kills by Brianna Bigelow and Ellie Jackson gave them a 5-0 point lead. The Warriors were able to get on the board as Briley Wolff collected a set by Amiyah Spann and got the ball past the Lions defense. The Lions pushed on, but the Warriors were not done as a kill by Michaela Andress allowed them to tie the set up at ten. The Lions regained the lead, but the Warriors would not be deterred as Kaylon Chapman got the ball past Cailin Pritchard. Wolff got in several more kills to tie the set up at nineteen. Another kill by Andress allowed the Warriors to take the lead. However, the Lions went on to win the set in a 25-23 final score.
Set Two
An early service error by the Lions allowed the Warriors to claim the first point of the second set. Ainsley Stovall got down for back-to-back kills to give Southern Wesleyan a 3-0 point lead. The Warriors pushed on as Megan Gilliland and Hayley Ratliff each got the ball down for kills. However, Emmanuel's Brianna Bigelow and Natalie Wilson blocked Kaylon Chapman's attack on the net to start a run that allowed them to tie the set up. Emmanuel continued to block the Warriors attacks to allow them to take a 14-11 point lead. Chapman got the ball down for a kill to keep the Warriors within three points of the Lions. Emmanuel went on to win the set in a 25-17 point final.
Set Three
Ellie Jackson got in the first kill of the final set to give the Lions the opening point. A kill off the hands of Ainsley Stovall put the Warriors behind the Lions 5-3. Emmanuel continued to push away as Brianna Bigelow got the ball down for a kill. A blocking error by Jada Porter allowed Stovall to get the ball down for another kill. Kaylon Chapman and Briley Wolff got in kills. However, Emmanuel would not relent as several more kills by Bigelow allowed them to extend their lead to ten. Southern Wesleyan fought back as Hayley Ratliff got down a kill. The Lions went on to claim the final set in a 25-14 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Murfreesboro, NC on October 9 to take on the Chowan Hawks at 6pm. They will remain on the road on October 10 to take on the Barton Bulldogs. The Warriors will then return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium where they will host the Francis Marion Patriots on October 16 and the UNC Pembroke Braves on October 17.
