Milledgeville, GA – Southern Wesleyan split their final two games of the Bobcat Classic on Saturday. After taking down Albany State in a 3-0 final, the Warriors fell to West Albany 3-2.
The Warriors had 42 kills in their victory over Albany State on Saturday morning. Michaela Andress led the team with 11 while Kaylon Chapman followed right behind her with 10. Rylie Barriger and Lily Clarkson each put up double digits in assists for the Warriors with Barriger leading with 17 and Clarkson following with 12. Barriger went on to have four aces in the game. Of the six team blocks, both Andress and Briley Wolff had two. Sarah Mitchell and Chapman had the other two blocks. Faith Paxton totaled 15 digs in the match.
Southern Wesleyan picked up 51 kills in their second game of the day with Michaela Andress leading the team with 16. Amiyah Spann and Rylie Barriger each had 18 assists in the game. The Warriors totaled eight service aces against West Alabama. Andress had three aces with both Amiyah Spann and Kaylon Chapman following with two. Sarah Mitchell led the team with five blocks in the game. Southern Wesleyan totaled 80 digs with libero Faith Paxton having 23 and Andress following with 17.
Match Vitals
Game One: Southern Wesleyan vs Albany State
Set One: Southern Wesleyan 25, Albany State 13
Set Two: Southern Wesleyan 25, Albany State 15
Set Three : Southern Wesleyan 25, Albany State 20
Game Two: Southern Wesleyan vs West Alabama
Set One: Southern Wesleyan 25, West Alabama 19
Set Two: West Alabama 25, Southern Wesleyan 15
Set Three: West Alabama 25, Southern Wesleyan 21
Set Four: Southern Wesleyan 25, West Alabama 22
Set Five: West Alabama 15, Southern Wesleyan 12
Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-2) Albany State (0-3) West Alabama (3-0)
How It Happened
Southern Wesleyan vs Albany State
Set One
Southern Wesleyan charged out of the gate as Rylie Barriger served up back to back aces to give the Warriors the early advantage. Michaela Andress and Briley Wolff blocked the next attack by the Golden Rams. However, Albany State went on the offensive as Shaniya and Amiria Anderson got down kills. Faith Paxton set the ball up to Megan Gilliland who got the ball past the Golden Rams to allow the Warriors to maintain their two point lead. The Warriors would not relent as kills by Elise Fulgham and Andress allowed them to extend their lead to 17-9. Banks was able to block the next attack by Kaylon Chapman to put the Golden Rams back within seven. Southern Wesleyan was not done as Paxton served up an ace. Final kills by Hayley Ratliff, Elise Fulgham and Michaela Andress allowed the Warriors to claim the opening set in a 25-13 final.
Set Two
Michaela Andress got in an early kill to put the Warriors on the board first in the second set. They extended their lead on a couple of kills off the hands of Kaylon Chapman. Albany State fought back as Amiria Anderson laid down a kill. Lily Clarkson set the ball up to Andress who slammed the ball past the Golden Rams to keep the Warriors ahead by two. Rylie Barriger served up another ace. A series of attack errors by Albany State allowed Southern Wesleyan to take a 13-7 point lead. Briley Wolff and Chapman each got in a couple more kills. The Golden Rams answered with a kill by Maya Ogbogu. However, Elise Fulgham and Chapman laid down kills to extend the Warriors lead to nine. Clarkson set the ball up to Kylie Ramey who drilled the ball down to give the Warriors a 25-15 point victory.
Set Three
The Golden Rams were first on the board in the third set, but a kill by Michaela Andress seconds later put the Warriors on the board. Kaylon Chapman and Sarah Mitchell each got in kills to give Southern Wesleyan the advantage. However, a kill by Maya Ogbogu allowed Albany State to tie the set up at six. Mitchell and Andress blocked the next attack by Leona Alexis, and then Andress dumped the ball over the net for a kill. Southern Wesleyan continued to put up a fight, but Shaniya and Jarianis Perez blocked Andress' next attack on the net. Andress served up an ace to extend the Warriors' lead to five. The Golden Rams persisted on their attacks, but back-to-back kills by Chapman allowed the Warriors to claim the final set in a 25-20 final.
Southern Wesleyan vs West Alabama
Set One
The Tigers struck first in the match as Klara Bobanova got in an early kill off a pass from Duru Seber. However, the Warriors were quick to challenge as Micheala Andress and Sarah Mitchell blocked the next attack by West Alabama. Andress collected her first kill of the set to allow the Warriors to tie the set up at three. Southern Wesleyan continued to challenge West Alabama as Briley Wolff and Kaylon Chapman each got in kills of their own to give the Warriors the advantage. The Tigers were not done as they regained the lead with a kill by Seber. Chapman served up a couple of aces to allow the Warriors to regain the lead. A kill by Elise Fulgham jump started a run for the Warriors that led them to an 18-13 point lead. Mitchell and Chapman got up to block another attack by the Tigers to give the Warriors the victory in the first set.
Set Two
West Alabama would not relent as Klara Bobanova got in yet another early kill to give them the first point advantage. Southern Wesleyan answered with a kill by Elise Fulgham. However, a couple misplays by the Warriors seconds later led the Tigers to take a two point lead. Briley Wolff got up and slammed the ball past the defense for a kill to tie the set back up at six. West Alabama was not done as they extended their lead to four after blocking an attack by Megan Gilliland. Despite a kill by Michaela Andress, the Tigers pushed on to win the second set in a 25-15 final.
Set Three
Back-to-back kills by Duru Seber and Cadence Goeden put the Tigers ahead 2-0 in the third set before a kill out of the hands of Briley Wolff put the Warriors on the board. Ainsley Stovall delivered a couple of kills, but West Alabama would not relent their attacks. A couple of kills by Sarah Mitchell kept the Warriors within two. West Alabama extended their lead to 15-9 as Goeden got in yet another kill for the Tigers. Michaela Andress set the ball up to Elise Fulgham who got it past the Tigers, but West Alabama persisted to claim set three 25-21.
Set Four
Southern Wesleyan challenged early in the fourth set as Michaela Andress drilled the ball past the Tigers' defense multiple times. West Alabama looked for the lead as Cadence Goeden went on the attack, but Megan Gilliland and Briley Wolff blocked her attack from paying off in the end. Elise Fulgham got in another kill to put the Warriors ahead by two. Southern Wesleyan pressed on as Andress laid down several more kills. Andress continued to challenge the Tigers as she scored yet again, this time in the form of a service ace. Amiyah Spann dumped the ball over the net for a kill. The Warriors pressed on as Fulgham got in another kill to force the match into the fifth set.
Set Five
The Tigers were first on the board in the final set as Katerina Korre drilled down a kill, but the Warriors answered seconds later as Sarah Mitchell and Kaylon Chapman blocked an attack by Klara Bobanova. West Alabama persisted as they went on a run to extend their lead to 7-2. However, the Warriors cut the lead down to one as Andress got in a couple kills and Amiyah Spann served up another ace. Elise Fulgham and Mitchell blocked yet another attack by the Tigers, but it was not enough as West Alabama went on to win the final set 15-12.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will take to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium for their home and Conference Carolinas opener on September 9th as they welcome the Erskine Flying Fleet to Central for a 6pm match. The Warriors will remain at home on September 11 and 12 as they host the Belmont Abbey Crusaders and North Greenville Trailblazers.
