Queens of the Hill; #6 Seward Tops Hill on Final Day at Tyler

TYLER, Texas – The No. 6 volleyball team wrapped up their weekend at the Tyler Invitational on Saturday by sweeping No. 8 Hill College and defeating Tyler in four sets. The victory over Hill marked the 7th victory over a top 25 opponent on the year.

GAME 1 RECAP: #6 SEWARD COUNTY VS #8 HILL

The Lady Saints came out in the first set determined to make a statement. The Lady Saints went up 7-3 early, forcing the Rebels to call a timeout. The two teams traded points for the next ten points, making the score 12-8, but a Viviane Viana Block would start a dominating 13-1 run by the Lady Saints to win the set 25-9.

It looked as if Hill would gain the momentum back going up 7-3 to start the second set. The Lady Saints quickly answered by going on a 7-2 run of their own and taking a one-point lead. Another 7-2 run, starting with a block by Luz Sierra put the set out of reach for the Rebels. Giovanna Kuntze ended the set with a kill, giving the Lady Saints set two, 25-16.

The Lady Saints put together one of their more impressive sets in the third, finishing with 14 kills on only one attacking error. Seward quickly went up 8-1 with three straight kills coming from Briana Domino. The Rebels cut the lead to four at 9-5, but the Lady Saint answered with an 8-0 run to make it 18-5. Nascimento and Domino each contributed three points to the run. The set was out of reach for a Rebel comeback, and errors by Hill helped seal the win for the Lady Saint, 25-11.

The Lady Saints played one of their most efficient matches against the No. 8 team in the country, finishing with a .431 hitting percentage. Three Lady Saints – Giovanna Kuntze (.625), Luz Sierra (.600) and Mariana Nascimento (.500) – hit at least .500, while Domino (.438) fell just shy. Domino led the team in kills with 9, while four others finished with five.

Sierra picked up where she left off from day one, acting like a wall at the net, picking up seven blocks. The match was her fifth straight match with at least five blocks and her third straight with at least seven. Nathiellen Machado and Giovanna Tapigliani both finished with a team high 11 digs.

GAME 2 RECAP: #6 SEWARD COUNTY VS TYLER

Following a 50-minute break, the Lady Saints started game two with some leftover momentum. Seward went up 6-1 with four points coming from Luz Sierra – two from blocks and two from kills. The Apaches battled back to cut the lead to two at 12-10, but the Lady Saints quickly answered with a 7-0 run. During the run, Sierra accounted for three more blocks, while Giovanna Tapigliani and Viviane Viana also recorded blocks. Now up 19-10, the two teams traded points, but an attacking error on Tyler ended the set, giving the Lady Saints the win, 25-16.

The second set started with the Lady Saints jumping out to a 6-4 lead. However, the Apaches didn’t let this set get out of hand as they tied it seven, before taking the lead 7-8. A 3-0 run by the Lady Saints got the lead back, 12-10. Once again, it was Sierra who led Seward, coming away with two blocks and one kill. The Apaches went on to score four of the next five to take the lead, and didn’t give it up the rest of the set. They slowly extended the lead until two straight kills gave Tyler the win 25-19.

Now tied at one set a piece, the two teams battled through the first ten points, staying tied at 5-5. Another Sierra block kick started a 6-0 run by the Lady Saints. The lead stayed at six until two straight Giovanna Tapigliani kills extended it to eight and ended the set, 25-19, in favor of the Lady Saints.

The Apaches didn’t go quietly, starting the fourth set with a 7-4 lead. A 5-0, starting with a Mariana Nascimento kill and ending with a Sierra block, gave the Lady Saints a two-point advantage. The Lady Saints built their lead up to four with another Nascimento kill, making it 14-10. Tyler answered the run, with one of their own, scoring six of the next eight points, tying it at 16 a piece. The teams battled for the next ten points. Tied at 21, a 4-1 run by the Lady Saints helped win the set, 25-22, and the match 4-1.

They Lady Saints finished the match with 49 team kills. Nascimento (10), Tapigliani (14) and Sierra (12) led the team in kills. Sierra recorded her second double-double of the season, adding a career-high 14 blocks. Briana Domino (13), Giovanna Kuntze (12), Nathiellen Machado (17) and Viviane Viana (13) all finished with double-digit digs.

The Lady Saints will get back to conference play on Wednesday (Oct. 4) when they travel to Pratt to take on the Beavers.

Ian Applegate