Lady Saints set for home opener Wednesday night

LIBERAL, Kan. – After a week and a half off, the Seward County volleyball team will be back in action on Wednesday night (Sep. 6) when the Lady Saints face Garden City at 6:30 p.m. in the Greenhouse. Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen's squad looks to continue their winning streak to start the season and extend it to six games.

Seward County (5-0, 1-0) showed resilience in their match against Barton. After losing the first set 33-31 in a hostile environment, the Lady Saints bounced back to win the following three sets 25-12, 25-14, 25-10.

In the early going of the season, the Lady Saints lead the Jayhawk conference in multiple statistical categories. As it is, Seward ranks first in kills per set (14.21), service aces per set (3.37), and points per set (20.4), while ranking second in assists per set (12.26).

Viviane Viana has been the star on offense, recording 3.26 kills per set, which ranks her eigth in the conference. In the match against Barton, Viana recorded 15 kills, while also earning 13 digs. The 10/10 performance is a team-leading third of the year.

Setting up Viana to be successful is sophomore setter, Giovanna Kuntze. She currently ranks second in the Jayhawk Conference in assists per set (10.33). Last time out, Kuntze recorded a career high 53 assists. That total is the most for a Lady Saint since 2012.

Defensively, Luz Sierra has been a menace for teams at the net. Her 1.29 blocks per set ranks her fourth in the conference. Sierra racked up seven blocks in the win against Barton. Nathiellen Machado has been a steady figure on defense, averaging 4.11 digs per set.

Garden City (2-6, 0-1), spent the weekend in Blinn, Texas where they went 1-2 in the Blinn Tournament. They defeated Mountain View 3-1 before falling to Midland and Laredo 0-3. In their lone Jayhawk match, they lost to Hutchinson 0-3.

Shaney Tiumalu (2.58 kills/set) leads the Broncbusters attack, while Bailey Martinez stands her ground on defense with 5.19 digs per set. The Lady Saints must get around Tijana Simovic (0.71 blocks/set), who will be guarding the net.

The Lady Saints have won 20 straight matches against Garden City, with the Broncbusters last win coming in 2007. In their two matches last season, Seward County won 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-19) in Garden City and 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-16) in Liberal.

For more information on the Seward County volleyball team, visit SewardSaints.com.