WICHITA, Kan. — Showcasing some dominant play for long stretches, the Newman women's volleyball team turned in a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) over Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference action at Fugate Gymnasium.
KEY SEQUENCE
With the Jets (16-9, 5-4 Heartland) facing a resilient opponent in the Aggies (3-20, 0-9 Heartland), a big run was needed to get things to a more comfortable point in the opening set. With OPSU leading 10-9, Newman rattled off nine of the next 10 points to take a commanding 18-11 lead. Five different Jets chipped in kills, and Jarin Braithwait and Milica Petricevic each added an ace to give Newman the advantage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
-Oklahoma Panhandle State jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in Set 1 and extended it out to 9-7 at one point. Newman would grab its first lead of the set and match at 11-10 off of an error from an Aggie player.
-The Jets would blow the set open once they took the lead, scoring the next nine out of 11 points to put their lead at 20-12, late in the set.
-Newman would score four-straight points to close out Set 1, by way of an OPSU error, a Kayla Turner kill, a Braithwait kill and a Brook Conley ace to win the set 25-15.
Set 2
-A kill by Turner would push the Jets out to an early 4-1 lead over the Aggies in Set 2. But Oklahoma Panhandle State would rally back to get within one point at 8-7 early in the set.
-Newman would be out in front at 17-14 a little over halfway thru the set but extended the lead by scoring six-straight points to put the set almost out of reach at 23-14. During that six run stretch Sarah Peterson had three kills, while Aliya Higginbotham added one and the Aggies helped out by adding two errors.
-The Jets clinched Set 2 by scoring the final two points by way of a Peterson kill and an Emily Harvey kill to win the set 25-17.
Set 3
-OPSU didn't give up early in the third set while facing a sweep, taking a 6-5 lead. Turner put up an ace and Higginbotham and Sarah Peterson added kills to key a six-point run for Newman that gave it an 11-6 lead.
-The Aggies climbed back into it at 15-12, but a kill from Hailey Braddy followed by one from Harvey sent the Jets on a 3-0 spurt.
-Higginbotham unleashed a kill and Braithwait and Turner turned in an ace each to get it to 24-15, and after two OPSU points, a block by Higginbotham and Laura Hageman ended the sweep.
LEADERS
Newman
Kills: Aliya Higginbotham 8. Aces: Kayla Turner, Jarin Braithwait, Brook Conley 2. Blocks: Turner, Yemima Buana, Higginbotham 1. Assists: Milica Petricevic 20. Digs: Anna Burton, Conley 12.
Oklahoma Panhandle State
Kills: Kendra Butler 7. Aces: Kayln Moore 3. Blocks: Emily Goeken 2. Assists: Julia Ibarra 12. Digs: Ibarra 12.
NOTES
-The victory got the Jets back into the win column after a short three-game skid. They have now won four of their past six Heartland Conference matches.
-Higginbotham got her eight kills on .412 hitting, as Newman hit .348 for the match, which is the second-best mark this year for the team.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets kick off their final regular-season roadtrip of the season with a 7 p.m. matchup at Dallas Baptist Thursday.
