Cloud Strikes Down Seward

Wednesday evening  the Seward County Volleyball team hit the road to take on conference foe Cloud County and where despite staying neck-to-neck with the T-Birds in each set, the Lady Saints were unable to take down Cloud County as they fell 3-1 against the T-Birds.

Seward County entered their matchup in Concordia, Kansas with a chip on their shoulder and used that chip to find any way they could to stay in the match against Cloud County. The first set started off with both teams exchanging blows back and forth with one another as Rafaeala DaSilva found Keala Wilson at the pin to knot the score up at 7-7 between the Lady Saints and T-Birds before Cloud County began to pull away and grow a 17-13 lead to force an SCCC timeout. A kill from Clara Duarte off a slide cut the deficit to three with the score sitting at 22-19 in favor of Cloud before the Lady Saints climbed back to the top with Wilson launching a rocket down the middle to tie the set back up and an ace from Winiffer Rodriguez put Seward County back in front 25-24. Their lead was short lived as the T-Birds quickly responded and retook their advantage and eventually the set as the Lady Saints fell 27-25 in the first.

The second set started just like the first as SCCC and Cloud County quickly tied things up at 7 once again, this time off an authoritative kill from Jasmyn Kistller. This time it was the Lady Saints who grew a lead as Wilson knocked one off the blocker for a kill to pull away by six with a 14-8 lead. Once again though the T-Birds came storming back to retake their lead on a 10-2 run and push ahead by two with a 18-16 lead in the second. It was an exchange of momentum for the rest of the set and when Marcelina Pyka sent one back with a solo block at the net to give SCCC a 24-23 lead, it looked all wrapped up. Cloud County however refused to go down easily and took the set into extra points and eventually claimed the second with a 29-27 victory to push ahead with a 2-0 set lead.

With their backs against the wall, the Lady Saints came out swinging to keep the T-Birds from breaking out the brooms. Kistller put SCCC ahead early with a 7-6 lead in the third after dropping in an ace and when Cloud County responded, so did DaSilva and Pyka who combined at the net for a block to tie the set back up 15-15. A huge kill down the middle from Lajla Rasljanin and an ace from Lisa Gomez put the Lady Saints in front by two at 21-19 and Seward County road that momentum to a 25-23 win and take the third.

Momentum was in the Lady Saints favor heading into the fourth after claiming the third and they used that to start the set with a 4-0 run capped by a kill from the pin by Kistller. It looked like Seward County was going to run away early in the set but the T-Birds once again would not go down easily as they created a 13-3 run of their own to force SCCC into a timeout, now trailing 13-7 and they were unable to recover after that as Clou County finished off the Lady Saints 25-13 and SCCC fell to the T-Birds 3-1.

The Lady Saints now fall to 2-4 in KJCCC action with an overall record of 10-9 on the 2023 season. They will look to redeem themselves back at home in the Green House on Saturday when they take on the Beavers from Pratt in a 6:30 PM matchup in Liberal, Kansas.