Leavenworth, Kan.– It was an absolutely electric night at the Ryan Sports Center as Spire volleyball swept Sterling College 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-16) in KCAC play this evening on Breast Cancer Awareness/Dig Pink Night.

Kaylee Kindall led USM with 11 kills on .346 hitting and eight blocks, including four solo stops. Saige Hadley contributed 10 kills, 11 digs and two aces, while Addison Baker directed the offense with 37 assists and added 13 digs. The Spires overcame deficits late in each of the first two sets before building a seven-point advantage midway through the third.

Hannah Weisz served two aces during an early four-point run that put USM ahead 9-8 in the opening set, but SC later moved in front 18-13 on a Schmidt kill. Consecutive Hadley aces helped bring the Spires within 19-18. Trailing 21-19, the Spires scored the final six points with Baker serving. Maddison Kruse delivered dominant consecutive kills to tie it, and Kindall's solo block gave the Spires the lead. A Baker ace, a shared block by Kindall and Kruse and a Warrior attack error completed the comeback.

The second set brought more swings. Sammy Jo Kirk finished a four-point Spire run with a kill from Baker for an 11-10 lead. Later, another Kindall kill, two Hadley kills and a Kindall solo block turned a 19-17 deficit into a 21-19 advantage. Sterling fought off two set points, tying the score at 24 with a shared block and a Saint Mary attack error. Following a Spires timeout, Sterling committed an attack error before Kruse put away Baker's set for the 26-24 win. The home team recorded 19 kills in the set.

USM found themselves down 3-1 in the third before responding with five straight points, capped by a Kindall ace. A Kruse kill from Baker extended the lead to 15-8. The Spires closed with another four-point run, beginning with a Kruse kill and continuing with two Sterling attack errors. Kindall finished the sweep with a kill assisted by Baker. USM held Sterling to seven kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the final set.

Kruse and Makenza Holly finished with nine kills apiece, with Holly hitting .263. Daniella Rivera-Perez led the Spires' back-row defense with 16 digs and no reception errors. Kathryn VanSkiver supplied seven digs and two aces without a service error, while Dakotah Garcia added six digs and an ace. Kirk contributed four kills and a solo block.

The Spires led in kills (45-27), hitting percentage (.173-.059), aces (9-2), digs (61-57) and team blocks (10-6). Wilson Brown paced Sterling with 10 kills and 13 digs while adding nine assists. McClanahan recorded six blocks, including four solo stops, and Battershell finished with 13 assists and 12 digs. Sterling College sits at fourth in KCAC standings while the Spires are at seventh place and climbing, currently holding a 6-3 KCAC record with the final four matches of regular season set.

 
Coming Up…

Spire volleyball will spend this next week on the road as they travel to Evangel University on Wednesday October 28^th with set one set to begin at 6 p.m. in Springfield.