Lady Saints Lasso Aggies in Exhibition Matchup
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oklahoma Panhandle State (x-x) | 19 | 24 | 19 | 0 |
|
Seward County Community College (x-x) | 25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
The Seward County Lady Saints got their brief exhibition season started off with a bang Thursday night in the Greenhouse, quickly dispatching of visiting Oklahoma Panhandle State 3-0 in sweeping fashion to kick off their 2016 campaign.
The first set was tight early on as the two teams played to a 15-15 tie at the midway point. After splitting four more points, the Lady Saints stepped on the gas, getting a kill from Briana Domino and then another from Mariana Nascimento to start a 8-2 run to close out the set, coming away with a 25-19 win in the opening period. Seward was efficient offensively in the first, finishing off 15 kills with a .423 hitting percentage.
The second was again close at the start, as for the second straight set, things were deadlocked as the two teams approached the midway mark of the period. Tied at 12, the Lady Saints took a one point lead on a kill from setter Giovanna Kuntze, but, OPSU answered right back and wound up taking a late lead of their own at 21-20. The Lady Saints and the Aggies continued to go back and forth until Seward eventually squeaked out a 26-24 win to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
With a sweep just one set win away for the Lady Saints, Seward got off to a much better start in the third, getting out to an 11-6 advantage early on before Kaysie Paxton caught fire with four straight kills to push Seward in front 15-6. The Lady Saints allowed OPSU back into things later in the set with a number of unforced errors, but did enough in the end to come away with another 25-19 win to seal the victory.
The Lady Saints hit .265 in the match, getting a match high 12 kills and a .409 hitting percentage out of Paxton in the victory. Amanda Pereira paced Seward with 21 assists on the night while Kuntze dished out 14 helpers. Four Seward players contributed two aces in the win, but the Lady Saints did finish with 13 service errors in the three setter. Freshman Jazlyn Smith had a team high nine digs in her team debut while Briana Williams led the Lady Saints with four blocks in her debut as well.
Seward will be right back at it in their final tuneups of 2016 on Saturday when they make the return trip to Goodwell to take part in OPSU's home scrimmages. The Lady Saints will play the Aggies at 9:00 followed by an 11:00 matchup with West Texas A&M and afternoon tilts against Dodge City and Trinidad State.