Leavenworth, Kan.— Spire volleyball swept Bethany College 3-0 on Saturday, October 10th, at Ryan Sports Center in Leavenworth. USM won the sets 25-19, 25-16 and 25-11.
Saint Mary erased a 12-10 deficit in the opening set with three consecutive points, then broke a 13-13 tie with a four-point run. Bethany stayed within reach, cutting the margin to 19-17 before the Spires responded dominantly with five straight points to reach set point. The Swedes saved two set points, but a service error for BC ended the set. The Spires finished the opening frame with 11 kills and three aces.
The Spires sharpened their attack in the second set, recording 16 kills with just two attack errors for a .412 hitting percentage. Bethany opened with a 2-0 lead and later tied the score at 9-9 before three consecutive Spire points. After the Swedes closed to 19-16, USM took the final six points, with
Kaylee Kindall delivering the set-ending kill. The Spires also registered three team blocks in the set.
The home squad then broke a 3-3 tie in the third set with seven unanswered points. Another six-point run extended the Spire advantage to 16-4, featuring two consecutive solo blocks and a kill by
Makenza Holly.
Cierra Poldberg contributed three kills during a four-point scoring stretch that pushed the lead to 22-9. A kill by
Maddison Kruse brought the Spires to match point at 24-11, and a Swede attack error completed the sweep.
Kindall led the Spires with 11 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, while
Addison Baker supplied 36 assists and seven digs. Kruse added nine kills. Holly finished with six kills, a .385 hitting percentage and four total blocks, including the two solo stops.
Sammy Jo Kirk contributed six kills, and
Emma Murphy added four kills and three block assists.
The Spires totaled 40 kills on .243 hitting, with
Hannah Weisz accounting for four of their seven service aces.
Kathryn VanSkiver led the back row with 16 digs, while
Isabella Kietzmann and
Dakotah Garcia each collected 14. The Spires finished with 70 digs and six team blocks, holding BC to 18 kills and a -.039 hitting percentage.
Coming Up…
USM has a road trip ahead of them as they travel to Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Wednesday, October 14
th to take on the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles who are 4-3 in KCAC play this season. Set one is slated for 6 p.m. in the Mueller Sports Center.
