No. 3 Lady Saints rally to knock off Hutchinson Blue Dragons in four sets

LIBERAL, Kan. – The third-ranked Seward County Community College volleyball team survived a first set loss to Hutchinson, but came storming back to win the next three sets in dominating fashion to post its 50^th straight conference win on Wednesday at the Greenhouse.

The Lady Saints dropped the first set, 23-25, but crushed the Blue Dragons in the next three, 25-8, 25-14 and 25-6, to improve to 11-0 in the Jayhawk Conference and 17-2 overall. Seward County has a 50-game conference winning streak, last losing on September 28, 2016 at Colby.

Seward knew it was going to be a battle in the opening set. The Lady Saints and the Blue Dragons traded points all game long. Hutchinson had an answer for every Seward attack and rattled off a 6-1 run to open a 17-12 lead. The Lady Saints  battled back and knotted the score at 22, but the Blue Dragons tallied three of the next four points to score the victory. It was the first time all season, Seward lost a set in conference play.

It looked as if Seward would be in for a long night as the second set started like the first with the teams trading blows again. The Lady Saints had a slim lead at 5-4, but then exerted their will on the Blue Dragons with a 17-0 run, taking a 22-4 advantage and cruising to the win.

Hutchinson seemed unfazed by the drubbing as it held an early 3-1 lead in the third set. The Lady Saints did not let the Blue Dragons stick around and like the second set, took control with a 17-7 burst to open a 18-10 lead and post the victory.

Seward made a statement in the fourth set. No slow start for the Lady Saints this time around. They took control from the start and made it a laugher. Seward started off with a 7-0 run and dusted Hutchinson with 15-2 and 21-4 advantages before finishing up for the triumph.

The Lady Saints were led in kills by Yanlis Feliz who had 15 on 24 attempts and three errors for a hitting percentage of .500. Mesalina Severino had an outstanding night at the net with eight kills on 14 attempts for a match high .571 hitting percentage along with one solo block, and a team-high seven block assists. Laura De Pra, who is averaging 13 assists per set, chipped in with 52 assists in the match, her second most assists in a single match this season.

Seward heads to Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday and Saturday for a three-game tournament at Iowa Western Community College. The Lady Saints play Mineral Area College and No. 7 Iowa Western on Friday and No. 4 New Mexico Military Institute on Saturday.