Seward County Volleyball Repeats As Jayhawk West Champions

LIBERAL, Kan. – The No. 3 Seward County volleyball team defended their Jayhawk West title Wednesday night, defeating Colby 3-1 (25-23, 25-10, 20-25, 25-16) to win back-to-back Jayhawk West championships. This marks the first time since 1999-2000 that the Lady Saints have repeated as conference champions.

The Lady Saints (30-1, 15-0) had no easy point in the first set, as the 3^rd place Trojans battled for a road victory.  Seward went down early, 4-6 through the first ten points, giving the Trojans four of their points through attacking and service errors.  Though they started off sluggish, the Lady Saints quickly rebounded, committing only one more error for the remainder of the set. The Lady Saints took the lead with a 5-0 run to make it 9-6 before Colby called a timeout.

The break in action was just what the Trojans needed, as they fought back into the set, tying it at 15.  The Lady Saints went on another 5-0 run to make it 20-15, but it still wasn't enough to put Colby away, as they stormed back to tie it at 23.  Following a Seward timeout, the Lady Saints came out and won the final two points to win set one 25-23.

Seward look much more comfortable in set two taking a 7-3 lead through the first ten points.  The Lady Saints continued their dominance, immediately going on a 9-3 run capped off with a Viviane Viana service ace. The lead only widened the rest of the set, with the Lady Saints coming out on top 25-10. The set was one of the best of the year for the Lady Saints, as they committed only two errors, while hitting .536.

Determined to not be swept, the Trojans jumped out to a 7-3 lead of their own in the third set.  Though the Lady Saints continuously fought to get back into the set, they could not get over the four-point hump.  Service errors prevented Seward from establishing a relevant run in the third set, as the Trojans came out on top 25-20.

Only needing one set to win the match and the conference, the Lady Saints put their foot on the pedal, gaining a five-point lead through the first 15 points.  With the score at 15-10, the Lady Saints went on a 7-4 run to put the set out of reach for the Trojans.  During the run, Mariana Nascimento and Viana both accounted for two points each.  Two errors by the Trojans ended the set, giving the Lady Saints the win, 25-16, and the conference championship.

The Lady Saints were put in position to score by Giovanna Kuntze, who ended the match with 53 assists, the second most in a four-set match this season. Giovanna Tapigliani (16 kills), Nasicmento (15 kills), and Viana (14 kills) all reached double-digits kill totals for the match. Nascimento hit .591 on the day, increasing her yearly percentage to .455, second in Lady Saints single-season history, only to Angie McLeod, who hit .461 in 1999.

Defensively, the Lady Saints were led by Briana Domino (16 digs), Viana (16 digs), and Kuntze (10 digs).  Seward also finished with three team blocks, with Nascimento coming away with two.

The Lady Saints will wrap up regular season action at 6:30 p.m. in the Greenhouse when they host second-place Hutchinson for Sophomore Night.