Kenny Hernandez
LIBERAL, Kan. – Seward County Community College continues to protect its home court with a 3-0 victory over Cloud County Community College on Saturday afternoon. The No. 12 Lady Saints jumped to an early lead in all three sets to win 25-14, 25-17, and 25-14 to improve to a season record of 15-4 and a perfect 4-0 in the KJCCC. On Monday, Seward County will travel to Garden City to take on the Broncbusters in another conference match at 6:30 PM CT.
Seyun Park led the Lady Saints with 11 kills, a .588 hitting percentage, and two block assists. Aubreigh Haxton and Ana Cambraia both had six kills and had two block assists a piece in the victory.
In the first set, the Lady Saints battled to take an early 10-7 lead over Cloud County, and after a Haxton kill, the Lady Saints looked to add to their lead. The Lady Saints went on an 8-1 run to take an 18-9 advantage over the Thunderbirds with strong serving by Jessica Sales. The first set went to Seward County 25-14 as they led 1-0 to start the match.
After the teams switched sides for the second set Seward County continued their strong offensive push with an early 9-2 lead over Cloud County. After trading off points, the Lady Saints led late in the set 17-9, and the Thunderbirds had no answers for the high-power offense. After a service error by Cloud County, Seward County claimed the second set 25-17 and headed to the third set with a 2-0 lead.
The Thunderbirds started strong in the third set as they looked to prevent the Lady Saints sweep after tying at 4-4. Seward County went on a 7-1 run to take a substantial lead of 11-5 and looked to continue their strong performance. Clara Duarte closed the match with a kill at the net to give the Lady Saints a 25-14 third-set victory and a 3-0 match win.
The Lady Saints remain undefeated in the KJCCC with a 4-0 record and tied with Butler for first in the conference. Seward County will travel to Garden City on Monday, with the match set to start at 6:30 PM CT.