Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Shorter Hawks on Tuesday evening in a 3-1 final score.
The Warriors totaled 32 kills against the Hawks of Shorter. Megan Gilliland and Kaylon Chapman each had seven kills. Behind them, Ainsley Stovall had five. Of the 31 assists, freshman Lily Clarkson had 13. Right on her heels, senior setter Amiyah Spann had 12 assists. Southern Wesleyan picked up nine aces in the match with both Faith Paxton and Chapman having three aces apiece.
Defensively, the Warriors had 82 digs. Senior libero Faith Paxton led the team with 34. Kaylon Chapman had 13 digs and Alexxis Wader had 12. The Warriors had nine blocks in the match. Briley Wolff was apart of five of the blocks.
Match Vitals
Set One: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 22
Set Two: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 18
Set Three: Shorter 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Four: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 11
Records: Southern Wesleyan (12-12 / CC 10-10) Shorter (13-17 / CC 10-10)
How It Happened
Set One
A series of attack errors by the Hawks allowed Southern Wesleyan to claim the first points of the opening set. However, Shorter answered as Whitlee Harvey served up an ace to put them within one point of the Warriors. Kaylon Chapman drilled the ball past the Hawks defense and then Lily Clarkson served up an ace. The Hawks rallied back as a kill by Emily Drier kick started an eight point run for Shorter to give them a 12-10 point advantage. Alexis Williams attempted to block another attack by Chapman, but the ball got through to allow the Warriors to tie the set up. Clarkson dumped the ball over the net. A couple of kills by Megan Gilliland allowed the Warriors to regain the advantage. The Warriors attacks paid off as Ainsley Stovall got the ball in for a kill to allow them to take set one in a 25-22 final.
Set Two
Southern Wesleyan was first on the board in the second set. Caroline Sivills looked to get the Hawks on the board, but Briley Wolff and Kaylon Chapman were there to block her attack on the net. Shorter continued to look at cutting into Southern Wesleyan's lead, but none of their attacks would find the court. A kill off the hands of Elise Fulgham extended the Warriors lead to five. Faith Paxton served up back-to-back aces. Sivills went on the attack once again, but Wolff was there to keep her off the board. Lily Clarkson picked up her second kill of the match as she dumped the ball over the net once again. Southern Wesleyan claimed set two in a 25-18 final.
Set Three
Shorter would not go down easily as a kill by Alexis Williams jump started a six point run for the Hawks. They continued to pull away as Caroline Sivills and Acca Berube each got the ball in for kills. Lily Clarkson set the ball up to Megan Gilliland who got it down for a kill. The Warriors fought back as Ainsley Stovall drilled the ball past the Hawks defense. Elise Fulgham and Hayley Ratlif blocked Whitlee Harvey's next attack at the net. However, Shorter pressed on as a kill by Alexis Williams allowed them to take set three in a 25-21 final.
Set Four
The Warriors charged out of the gate in the final set. Kaylon Chapman led off the set with a kill. The Hawks looked to get on the board, but Briley Wolff and Chapman blocked each of their attacks on the net. Caroline Sivills got the ball past the Warriors for a kill to put Shorter on the board. However, Chapman served up a couple of aces to extend the Warriors lead to 10-2. Faith Paxton set the ball up to Ainsley Stovall who got it past the Hawks for another kill to increase the Warriors lead to nine. A kill of the hands of Hayley Ratlif started a five point run for Southern Wesleyan that ended in an ace by Paxton. Alexis Williams and Sivills delivered a couple more kills, but it was not enough as Megan Gillialnd got the ball down for a kill to give the Warriors a 25-11 point victory in the final set.
What's Net
Southern Wesleyan will enter the Conference Carolinas Championship Tournament as the eighth seed. They will host the Belmont Abbey Crusaders in Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on Friday, November 6 at 6pm.
