Solid All-Around Effort Propels Seward Past Cloud
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cloud County Community College (10-7, 4-3) | 25 | 24 | 18 | 19 | 1 |
|
Seward County Community College (11-7, 5-1) | 18 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
It was exactly what the doctor ordered for Seward County Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen Wednesday night in the Greenhouse as the Lady Saints took on the Cloud County Thunderbirds; a complete match on both sides of the net, as Seward hit.303 as a team and combined for 14 blocks in a key 3-1 Jayhawk West win over the T-Birds to keep 2nd place all to themselves in the conference standings.
In the first set, it was Cloud County jumping out to an early lead after their five plus hour bus ride from Concordia down to Liberal. The T-Birds grabbed an early 5-1 advantage, but Seward battled back to tie the set at 10 and then snag a one point lead on a kill from Megan Sharratt in the middle. With the score tied at 17 later on, the T-Birds made another push, scoring three straight points to go back in front 20-17. The jolt seemed to take the wind out of the Lady Saints sails as Cloud finished the set on an 8-1 run to take the first 25-18 and go on top 1-0 in the match.
The second began much as the first had, with a back and forth battle between the two teams separated by just a half game in the Jayhawk West standings. The score was deadlocked at nine early on before a Seward run mid-set pushed them out to an 18-15 advantage. Looking to close the T-Birds out, the Lady Saints ran up against a big Cloud block with the score 23-22 and just like that the set was tied once again, this time at 23. The teams traded points to 24-24 before a Seward block and then a kill by Viviane Viana sealed the win for the Lady Saints in a 26-24 final to even the match at one. Seward had 17 second set kills on 38 attacks, finishing the period with a .289 hitting percentage.
For the third consecutive set, at the 18 point mark, Seward and Cloud were tied at nine in the third. As the score went tit for tat through the middle of the set before Seward decided that less was more, scoring three points on tips in the middle of the Cloud defense to take a 20-16 lead. With the finish line in front of them, Seward shifted into another gear to close the set, outscoring the T-Birds 6-2 in the final moments of the period to take the all-important third 25-18. It was another big set for the Seward offense that finished with 15 kills and just two errors to combine for a .394 mark at the net. The Lady Saints defense also showed up with five blocks in the period to thwart any chances of a T-Bird comeback.
With their backs to the wall, Cloud County came out strong in the fourth, jumping out to an 11-8 lead on Seward as the teams neared the midway point of the set. The Lady Saints had an answer though, using the energy from their Greenhouse crowd to go on a 5-2 mini run to knot the score at 13. With the score tied at 16 later on, the Lady Saints got a kill from Kaysie Paxton and a huge block on the outside from Maritza Mesa and Belissa Guidotti to put them up 18-16. As they did in the third, once the Lady Saints got momentum, they didn't let up, scoring two more to take a 20-16 lead to force Cloud's final timeout of the set. The stoppage couldn't stop the Lady Saints roll though as Seward closed the door 25-19, finishing on a kill from Mesa on the right side to take the match 3-1. The Lady Saints had another 17 kill set in the fourth, hitting .324 as a team.
The Lady Saints put together arguably their most impressive offensive performance of the season in the win, hitting .303 as a team with 59 kills and just 16 errors on the night. Alex Wood led Seward with 14 kills, coupling it with 11 digs for a double-double on the night. Mesa coming off an All-Tournament performance at the Wyo-Braska Shootout, was solid again with 13 kills for Seward. Sharratt finished with 12 kills for the Lady Saints and led the team with six total blocks. Guidotti and Viana chipped in on the offensive end as well, combining for 15 kills and just two errors in the victory. Jade Piper dished out a team best 24 assists in the win while Amanda Pereira had 19. Viana led Seward with 17 digs in the match while libero Kimberly Diaz had 15.
Seward has now won 7 of its last 8 matches to improve to 11-7 overall on the year while upping their Jayhawk West mark to 5-1 where they now sit all alone in 2nd place, one game behind Hutchinson for the top spot. Cloud drops to 10-7 on the year while falling back to 4-3 in Jayhawk West action.
Next up for the Lady Saints is their lone home tournament of the season as they host the 2015 Ozfest Invitational in the Greenhouse on Friday and Saturday. Matches start at 10:00 AM each day and will run through 8:00 PM with Seward County in action at 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM Friday and Saturday.