Rome, GA – Southern Wesleyan fell in five sets to the Shorter Hawks on Tuesday evening.
The Warriors totaled 45 kills in the match with Kaylon Chapman leading the team with 11. Ainsley Stovall followed with 10 kills and Elise Fulgham had eight. Of the 41 assists in the match, Amiyah Spann and Lily Clarkson each had 18. With her assists in the match, Spann surpassed 1000 career assists. Chapman and Ashley Crick each had two aces. The other aces of the match came from Spann and Alexxis Wader.
Defensively, the Warriors recorded 80 digs with Faith Paxton leading the team with 26. Kaylon Chapman (13), Alexxis Wader (12) and Amiyah Spann (10) also had double digits in digs. Southern Wesleyan had 10 blocks in the game with Ainsley Stovall leading the team with four.
Match Vitals
Set One: Shorter 25, Southern Wesleyan 18
Set Two: Shorter 25, Southern Wesleyan 19
Set Three: Southern Wesleyan 28, Shorter 26
Set Four: Southern Wesleyan 25, Shorter 21
Set Five: Shorter 15, Southern Wesleyan 8
Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-3 / CC 3-1) Shorter (4-7 / CC 2-2)
How It Happened
Set One
The Warriors were first on the board in the opening set after an attack error by the Hawks. However, the Hawks answered quickly as kills by Victoria Sparks, Lana Maluda and Emily Drier allowed them to take a 7-2 point lead and force the Warriors to take a timeout. Kaylon Chapman got the ball down past the Hawks. Chapman got in another kill, but Shorter took a six point lead on a kill by Brooke Thao. The Hawks would not relent as Caroline Sivills went on the attack, but Ainsley Stovall was able to block the attack. Shorter went on to claim the first set in a 25-18 final.
Set Two
The Warriors were first on the board in set two as Kaylon Chapman blocked an early attack by the Hawks. Ainsley Stovall got in a kill and then Megan Gilliland blocked the next attack by Shorter. Emily Drier got in a kill to tie the set up at five. Shorter took the lead as Taylor-Reese Howell got in a couple of kills. Chapman and Stovall got in several more kills. Shorter continued to distance themselves, but Megan Gilliland got the ball past the defense for a kill to put the Warriors behind the Hawks 22-17. Despite a kill by Stovall, the Warriors fell to the Hawks in the second set in a 25-19 final.
Set Three
Caroline Sivills got down an early kill in set three to give Shorter the advantage. Amiyah Spann set the ball up to Kaylon Chapman who drilled it past the Hawks' defense. The Warriors continued to challenge the Hawks as Kylie Ramey blocked an attack by Taylor-Reese Howell. A kill by Ainsley Stovall allowed the Warriors to tie the set up at nine. Southern Wesleyan continued to push ahead as Elise Fulgham, Megan Gilliland and Stovall got in kills. The Hawks regained the lead on a kill by Acca Berube. A series of attack errors by the Hawks allowed the Warriors to tie the set up. Amiyah Spann set the ball up to Megan Gilliland who got it past the Hawks to give the Warriors a 26-25 point advantage, however the Hawks tied the set up seconds later on a kill by Emily Drier. A bad set by the Hawks allowed the Warriors to claim the third set in a 28-26 final.
Set Four
Ainsley Stovall and Kaylon Chapman got down back-to-back kills to give the Warriors the early advantage in the fourth set. However, a kill by Emily Drier cut the Warriors lead down to two. The Hawks challenged on as Brooke Thao got in an ace to tie the set up at four. Elise Fulgham blocked the next attack by Victoria Sparks to prevent the Hawks from taking the lead. Southern Wesleyan continued their attacks as Kylie Ramey, Fulgham and Stovall all got in kills to put the Warriors on top 14-6. The Hawks fought back, but Briley Wolff got in a kill to allow the Warriors to maintain their four point lead. Shorter got a couple of points on the board, but Southern Wesleyan ended up on top in a 25-21 final.
Set Five
In the fifth set of the match, Ava Medina got down a kill off a pass from Helena Kelley. The Warriors quickly tied the set up as Ainsley Stovall got the ball past the Hawks for a kill. Ashley Crick served up an ace to give the Warriors the lead. Shorter regained the lead on a kill by Taylor-Reese Howell, but the Warriors answered with a kill by Megan Gilliland. However, Shorter pushed on to win the final set in a 15-8 final score.
What's Next
The Warriors will return home on September 18 as they host the Converse Valkyries at 6pm. They will welcome the Ferrum Panthers to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on September 19 at 2pm. On September 25, the Warriors will travel to Banner Elk, NC to take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats.
