WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Newman volleyball team got off to a hot start in Day 1 of the 2016 Peggy Martin Crossover Challenge by sweeping Southern Arkansas 3-0 and toppling Henderson State 3-1 in the second match of the day.
 
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
 
KEY SEQUENCE

It was a back and forth contest early on in Set 1 of the match for the Jets (9-3 overall) and Muleriders (3-7 overall), but a big surge by NU would take the score to 16-11 and eventually lead to a 25-20 Set 1 victory for the Jets. Newman would control most of Set 2 and Set 3, trailing only eight times, which was all in Set 2 to hang on for victory over SAU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

-Things would be tied at 7-7 early on in Set 1 but with the help from the Jet offense they would break the tie and remain out in front the rest of set.
 
-In Set 2 the score was tied at 11-11 but five kills from Jarin Braithwait with assistance from fellow teammates and some errors from SAU would help Newman break the tie for the remainder of the set and win 25-17.
 
-The Jets never trailed in Set 3 by coming out of the gates with a commanding 15-4 lead. SAU would get as close as 17-13 but the NU offense stepped back on the gas to fly past the Muleriders 25-16 to sweep the first match of the day.
 
-Hailey Braddy and Braitwait both lead the Jets in kills with 9, while Brook Conley had 36 assists and Anna Burton added 13 digs for NU.
 
HENDERSON STATE
 
KEY SEQUENCE

Newman won a contested Set 1 and dominated Set 2 and was one more set away from sweeping all of Day 1, but the Reddies (5-7 overall) wouldn't go quietly won Set 3 and forced Set 4, which the Jets would hang on to win Set 4 and the match over HSU to finish the day.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

-The Jets were down 8-3 early on in Set 1, but rallied back to get their first lead at 11-10. NU would never trail again in Set 1 but the Reddies would tie it at 20-20 late in the set. Hailey Braddy would get a kill, while Emily Harvey would get two and two errors by HSU would help NU finish out the last five points of the set to win 25-20.
-Newman would dominate Set 2 from the start by getting out to a 13-3 start and not look back once by winning 25-11 over the Reddies.
-HSU would come out for Set 3 and beat NU 25-22.
-The Jets would lead 11-8 but the Reddies would regain the lead at 12-11 about halfway through the set. NU would climb back to take a 21-17 lead late and hold on to the lead with help from two errors from HSU and a kill a piece from Braddy and Braithwait to win the set and match to close out Day 1 of the tournament.
-Braddy lead the Jets with 12 kills and Kayla Turner added 11 for the match and Yemima Buana lead NU defensively with six blocks.
 
NOTES
 
-Braddy lead the Jets in kills with 21 for the overall day, she has had 78 kills over last seven matches.
-Conley added 78 assists on the day to her 403 overall assists, she is currently averaging 10.61 assists per set.
-Burton added 29 digs on the day with 13 against SAU and 16 against HSU, she has reached double-digit digs in the nine out of ten matches she's played in.
-The Jets currently have a three-game winning streak.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
The Jets are back at it Saturday to close out the tournament, facing Arkansas Tech at 11:00 a.m. before taking on host Central Missouri at 5:00 p.m. to close out the 2016 Peggy Martin Crossover Challenge.