Seward Goes Out of the World for Opener
KSCB News - August 24, 2015 2:05 pm
A young Seward County Lady Saints team battled hard this weekend at the New Mexico Military Classic in Roswell, New Mexico on opening weekend of the 2015 season, going the distance in three of four matches on the weekend, but they came up just short, managing just one win in four tries to begin their season 1-3.
In their 2015 opener, the Lady Saints took on Pima in the Land of Enchantment. It was a very slow start for Seward who had just two players on the court back from last year’s 20 win squad. The Lady Saints combined to hit just .054 in the first two sets against the Aztecs, dropping the first 25-19 and the second 25-13 to quickly fall behind in the match 2-0. The Lady Saints defense kept them alive in the third set as they squeaked out a 29-27 win with their backs to the wall and used the momentum to come out and win 25-20 in the fourth behind a 15 kill set to even the match at 2-2. In the fifth their offense deserted them however, managing just 3 kills on 21 swings as Pima came out victorious 16-14 to take the match 3-2.
Seward hit just .106 as a team in the match and had 51 total errors in the five set loss. Alex Wood led the Lady Saints with 12 kills and notched a double-double with 17 digs to go along with the dozen kills. Maritza Mesa was second on the team with 11 kills and also had 5 blocks for Seward. Amanda Pereira led the Lady Saints with 21 assists in the loss and also had 10 digs in her first collegiate match. Kimberly Diaz recorded a match high 28 digs while Belissa Guidotti was in on 7 of Seward’s 11 blocks as a team in the match.
SEWARD COUNTY/PIMA BOX SCORE<http:
The Lady Saints second match of the day pitted them against the Gila Monsters of Eastern Arizona. The two teams played even through the first two sets of the match with Eastern picking up a 25-22 win in the first and Seward answering that with a 25-22 win of their own in the second to tie the match at 1. In the third it seemed as if nothing could go right for the Lady Saints as they managed just 5 kills while piling up 8 hitting errors to drop the set 25-14. Seward picked things back up in the fourth, but Eastern was just a touch better as the Gila Monsters closed out the match with a 25-19 win to take the match 3-1.
Mesa led the Lady Saints offense with 9 kills in the loss. Diaz once again topped the digs chart for Seward with 18 while Wood’s 15 was second best and her 4 aces were a team high. Jade Piper racked up 17 assists in her first collegiate start and Megan Sharratt had 3 blocks to lead the team.
SEWARD COUNTY/EASTERN ARIZONA BOX SCORE<http:
It was a new day on Saturday as the Lady Saints hit the court against South Mountain. The Cougars took a highly competitive first set 25-23 but Seward bounced back with a convincing 25-15 win in the second as they hit a season best .318 as a team with 9 kills and just 2 hitting errors. The Lady Saints took their first match lead of the 2015 season with a 25-20 win in the third, but a 25-12 drubbing by South Mountain in the fourth forced a deciding fifth set between the two. In the fifth the Lady Saints prevailed, winning a 16-14 nailbiter for their first victory of the season while in turn handing the Cougars their first defeat.
Wood laid the wood to the Cougars for Seward in the win, posting her second double-double of the tournament with a career high 18 kills and 14 digs while also leading the Lady Saints at the service line with 4 aces. Mesa also reached double figures in kills with 11 while Pereira and Piper combined for 31 of Seward’s 36 assists in the win. Diaz recorded a team high 28 digs while Sharratt and Kaysie Paxton led Seward with 4 blocks a piece.
SEWARD COUNTY/SOUTH MOUNTAIN BOX SCORE<http:
In their final match of the weekend the Lady Saints faced their stiffest test as they took on 2014 NJCAA National Tournament competitor New Mexico Military on their home floor. NMMI came out strong, taking a 25-20 first set decision, but the Lady Saints fought right back, pulling out a close 25-23 win in the second before blowing the Broncos off the court 25-16 in the third as they combined to hit .353 as a team with 13 kills and just 1 error in the set. They couldn’t keep momentum on their side though and after moving to the other side of the net the Lady Saints went cold, dropping the fourth 25-14 and then the fifth 15-10 to lose the match 3-2.
Piper ran the Lady Saints offense on her own in the five set loss, dishing out a career best 37 assists while also pulling up 10 digs for her first career double-double. Sharratt came alive on the offensive end for Seward with 14 kills and a .294 hitting percentage in the match while Wood picked up another double-double with 10 kills and a career high 19 digs. For the fourth straight match Diaz led Seward with 25 digs while Mesa helped out with 16 in the defeat.
SEWARD COUNTY/NEW MEXICO MILITARY BOX SCORE<http:
The Lady Saints start their 2015 season 1-3, but with some positives to take out of the weekend after a pair of close losses. Seward will now focus their attention on Jayhawk West Conference play which they begin on Wednesday when they travel to last year’s runner-up Colby who started their 2015 campaign 2-2 over the weekend in North Platte, Nebraska.
Roy Allen