Murfreesboro, NC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Chowan Hawks in a 3-1 final on Friday evening.
The Warriors totaled 54 kills in the victory over the Hawks. Michaela Andress and Briley Wolff each had 14 kills, while Ellie Moore followed with 10. Of the 51 assists in the match, Amiyah Spann had 25. Right behind her, freshman Lily Clarkson had 20 assists. Alexxis Wader had two aces. The other ace came off the hands of Wolff.
Defensively, the Warriors collected 99 digs. Senior Faith Paxton led the team with 27 digs in the match. Three other Warriors posted double digits in digs. Michaela Andress had 15, Alexxis Wader had 13 and Amiyah Spann had 10. Both Elise Fulgham and Briley Wolff had four blocks in the match.
Match Vitals
Set One Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Chowan 23
Set Two Final: Chowan 25, Southern Wesleyan 20
Set Three Final: Southern Wesleyan 26, Chowan 24
Set Four Final: Southern Wesleyan 25, Chowan 21
Records: Southern Wesleyan (9-7 / CC 7-5) Chowan (5-14 / CC 4-8)
How It Happened
Set One
The Hawks were first on the board in the opening set as Jada Caruthers got in a kill. A kill off the hands of Briley Wolff allowed the Warriors to tie the set up. Chowan answered with kills by Andrea Krgovic. An attack error by the Hawks put Southern Wesleyan back on top. The Warriors continued to distance themselves with kills by Michaela Andress, Wolf and Elise Fulgham. Madison Henderson blocked Wolff's next attack on the net. However, the Warriors answered as Fulgham and Ainsley Stovall got up to block an attack by Kiara Lopez. Lily Clarkson set the ball up to Ellie Moore who drilled it past the Chowan defense to extend the Warriors lead to four. Stovall got in the final kill of the first set to give the Warriors a 25-23 point victory.
Set Two
Micheala Andress got the ball down to get the first kill of the second set. Errors by the Hawks allowed the Warriors to maintain the lead. However, an ace by Madison Henderson tied the set up at six. Chowan took the lead as Alexa Fricker and Jada Caruthers each got the ball down for kills. Briley Wolff got the ball down past the Hawks for several more kills. The Hawks continued to put up a fight as kills by Alexa Fricker put Chowan on top by five. Southern Wesleyan looked to fight back, but Rosa Lynn Collier blocked Ainsley Stovall's attack on the net to allow the Hawks to take set two in a 25-20 final.
Set Three
In the third set, a kill by Rosa Lynn Collier allowed the Hawks to claim the first point. However, kills by Briley Wolff and Elise Fulgham allowed the Warriors to take the lead. Michaela Andress went on the attack, but Madison Henderson blocked her attack. Fulgham got the ball down for another kill. Collier looked to cut into the Warriors lead further, but Sarah Mitchell and Andress blocked her attack on the net. Another kill by Andress allowed the Warriors to take a two point lead, but the Hawks answered with kills by Jada Caruthers. Chowan regained the lead with kills by Collier. A series of errors by the Hawks and then a kill by Fulgham allowed the Warriors to claim set three in a 26-24 final.
Set Four
In the final set, Briley Wolff put the ball over the net for a kill. Alexxis Wader served up an ace. The Hawks took the lead on kills by Alauna Wilson-Linn, Madison Henderson and Kiara Lopez. Michaela Andress went on the attack as she laid down several kills to tie the set up at five. Chowan was able to stop Andress on her next attack as Henderson and Rosa Lynn Collier blocked her attack on the net. The Hawks took the lead as Lopez and Henderson laid down a couple more kills. Lily Clarkson set the ball up to Ellie Moore who drilled the ball past the Hawks to allow the Warriors to tie the set back up at sixteen. Kaylon Chapman got the ball in for a kill. Chowan looked to cut into Southern Wesleyan's lead as Kiara Lopez went on the attack, but Elise Fulgham and Briley Wolff blocked her attack on the net to stop the Hawks. Andress got down several more kills to allow the Warriors to claim the final set in a 25-21 final.
What's Next
The Warriors will remain on the road on October 10 as they travel to Wilson, NC to take on the Barton Bulldogs at 2pm. Southern Wesleyan will return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on October 16 and 17 as they host the Francis Marion Patriots and UNC Pembroke Braves. They will then travel to Due West, SC to take on the Erskine Flying Fleet on October 23.
