Lady Saints Come From Behind to Knock Off Grizzlies
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Seward County Community College (22-13, 9-5) | 20 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 15 | 3 |
|
Butler Community College (10-19, 3-10) | 25 | 16 | 25 | 24 | 12 | 2 |
For some reason, the Butler Grizzlies have had their struggles against everyone else in the Jayhawk Conference this season except for the Seward County Lady Saints. The 10-19, 3-10 Grizzlies defeated Seward earlier this season in the Greenhouse and Wednesday night in the Power Plant in El Dorado had a 2-1 lead on the Lady Saints before the gals in green stormed back to win the fourth and then the fifth sets to win a 3-2 decision to improve to 22-13, 9-5 on the year.
The match didn't start well for the Lady Saints after a four plus hour jaunt over to El Dorado. Seward started the first set with three straight errors to put themselves in a hole, but later on came back to tie the set at 8 on an ace from Megan Sharratt and went on top for the first time on a kill from Lindsey Schwab to make it 9-8. It remained close to 15-14 when the Grizzlies took the lead and the Lady Saints trailed the rest of the way. Butler extended their lead to 18-16 on a Seward ball handling error and a Lady Saint attack wide made it 22-18 Grizzlies. After Seward picked up a pair of kills to make it a two point game, Butler finished the set with three straight kills to take the set 25-20.
The Lady Saints didn't let the set loss get them down as they blazed out of the gates in the second set, opening up an early 5-0 lead after three Butler errors followed by an ace from Taryn Bedore and a kill from Carolina Freitas. Butler cut the Seward lead to 8-6, but the Lady Saints pushed back and got a kill and then two straight aces by Sharratt to take a five point, 13-8 lead once again. Seward continued to put pressure on the Grizzlies, opening up their lead to as many as eight at 20-12 on a solo block from Sharratt before cruising to the finish line and taking the set 25-16 to even the match at 1.
Seward jumped out to another early lead in the third, going in front 10-5 to begin the set. The Lady Saints continued to lead, but Butler had Seward's lead down to two when a service error followed by two straight hitting errors from the Lady Saints gave the Grizzlies the lead 16-15. Seward regained control and looked like they were poised to take the set as they led 22-19, but an attack error gave Butler the ball back and the Grizzlies would use the momentum to score six of the final seven points of the set to win it 25-23.
The Lady Saints found themselves with their backs to the wall in the fourth set as they managed just two kills in the first 20 points of the set, falling behind by a count of 12-8. A kill by Angelina Minor jump started the offense and quickly the Lady Saints turned the tide and had the set all square at 12 apiece. A Seward block and a kill from Carolina Gasparini gave the Lady Saints the lead, but another slew of errors erased that advantage and put Butler in a spot to clinch the match with a 20-18 lead. Then it was the Grizzlies turn to give the points back and back to back service errors from the home team did just that to tie the score back up, this time at 21. The score remained tied four points later at 23-23 when a Butler kill gave the Grizzlies match point. Seward fought off that match point with a kill by Gasparini and a kill from Freitas gave Seward a crack at the set with the score 25-24. The Lady Saints didn't wait long, clinching the set on a Butler hitting error to win it 26-24 and send the match to a deciding fifth set.
Seward got off to a dreadful start in the fifth, hammering three balls out of bounds to fall behind 4-1 early. They bounced back though and by the midpoint of the set the score was even at 7-7. A ball out of bounds by the Grizzlies and an ace from Sharratt put Seward up by two and the Lady Saints used a big block late to keep the lead and give themselves a match point opportunity. The Lady Saints wouldn't need to do anything more as Butler committed their 29th hitting error of the night to give Seward the point, the set, and the match with a 15-12 fifth set win.
The reigning Jayhawk West Player of the Week Gasparini led the Lady Saints with a huge night, going for 17 kills and 21 digs in the victory while no other Seward player had more than 8 kills in the victory. Bedore dished out a career high 35 assists as the Lady Saints moved to a 5-1 offense for the first time this season while Kari Anderson and Thayna Silva both topped the 20 dig mark in the match. Seward did hurt themselves with the freebies, giving away 55 points on errors that included 26 hitting errors, 13 service errors, and a season high 12 ball handling errors.
Seward improves to 22-13 overall on the year and 9-5 in Jayhawk West play where they now sit in 3rd place. The Lady Saints got some help in the scramble for playoff positioning Wednesday night as Colby was shocked at home by Cloud County. If Seward wins their final two conference contests against Pratt and Cloud, the Lady Saints will guarantee themselves no worse than a 3rd place finish in the league standings. Butler continues a tough transitional year back to the NJCAA Division I level, falling to 10-19 overall and 3-10 in Jayhawk West action where they are now in 8th place.
The Lady Saints continue a long road trip on Friday as they travel to Hillsboro, Missouri to compete in the Jefferson Tournament south of St. Louis. The Lady Saints will take on a quality slate of opponents including #16 Missouri State West Plains, #12 Indian Hills, DII #3 Illinois Central, and Jefferson.