No. 9 Lady Saints Sweep Pirates to Start Conference Play

LIBERAL, Kan. – The No. 9 Seward County volleyball team (3-2, 1-0) pushed their win streak to three games with a sweep over Independence (25-15, 25-20, 25-14) to start Jayhawk Play.  With the win, the Lady Saints have now won 24 straight Jayhawk West matches, dating back to September of 2016.

 

The first set could not have started any better for the Lady Saints, winning the first nine points before a passing error gave the Pirates their first point of the set.  Djuly Schmorantz came away with two aces and a kill during the 9-0 run. Luz Sierra took over the rest of the set, coming away with six points over the remainder of the set as the Lady Saints took set one 25-15.

 

After an easy opening set for Seward, Independence picked up their game to create a competitive second set. The Lady Saints jumped out to a 7-3 lead following a Sierra kill, but the Pirates quickly closed the cap to two points, forcing a Lady Saints timeout.  Coming out of the timeout, the Lady Saints pushed the lead up to five, by a score of 15-10, but once again, the Pirates battled back, cutting the lead to one point to make the score 19-18.  That would be as close as Independence would get, as Thais Viera scored three of the final six points to give Seward a two-set lead, 25-20.

 

The Lady Saints reverted back to their play in the first set, to complete the sweep.  Seward won the first three points of the set before extending their lead further with back-to-back Sierra points.  Winning 15-11 midway through the set, Seward went on a scoring frenzy, winning ten of the final thirteen points to win the set 25-14 and complete the sweep.

 

Sierra came away with a monster performance, finishing the match with 13 kills on just 16 attempts.  On the defensive side, she added five blocks. Schmorantz also finished with double-digit points, finishing with seven kills, three aces and a block.

 

Sophomore libero Nathiellen Machado led the Saints with 14 digs, while Schmorantz finished with 12.  Setter Celenia De Leon paced the match with 29 assists.

 

Seward will play their first home match of the season on Saturday (Sep. 1) when they host Garden City at 6:30 p.m. inside the Greenhouse.