WICHITA, Kan. — On a tough night for hitters on either side, the Newman women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to St. Edward's Thursday night in its first home Heartland Conference match of the season.
KEY SEQUENCE
After grabbing a win in the third set to prevent a sweep, the Jets (12-6, 1-2 Heartland) took control early in the fourth set as they continued their comeback attempt. The Hilltoppers (5-8, 3-0 Heartland) were able to change the course though, picking up five straight points to turn a 7-5 Newman lead into a 10-7 lead, and they would hold on to earn the 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 25-17 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
-St. Edward's took control after a back-and-forth period to start the match, scoring seven out of eight points during one stretch to go up 10-5. That lead stretched to as much as 16-8 before the Jets started to push back.
-Yemima Buana, Kayla Turner and Emily Harvey netted three straight kills to make it a five-point game, and an SEU error followed by a block from Brook Conley and Jarin Braithwait made it a four-point margin at 18-14.
-More blocks—a solo stuff from Buana and a double from Buana and Aliya Higginbotham—followed by a Higginbotham kill, made it 21-20, and the Jets tied it at 22-22 thanks to another Harvey kill, but the Hilltoppers rallied for the last three points of the set.
Set 2
-A sturdy 4-0 start by the Jets was keyed by a Conley ace, and a kill and a block each out of Higginbotham and Buana, but St. Edward's went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead.
-A kill from Turner and an SEU error put the hosts back in front 10-9, but the Hilltoppers went on the biggest run of the match to turn that into an 18-10 advantage.
-The Jets scored 10 of the next 15 points, with Turner netting three kills and Harvey adding two kills and a block during the stretch, but SEU was able to close it out.
Set 3
-Another 4-0 start by the Jets to begin the third wound up paying off. Harvey had the first two kills of the set, and Turner gave Newman the lead three consecutive times after the guests tied things up early.
-Their own big run bolstered the Jets' lead in a big way, as they ran off nine straight points thanks to three kills from Harvey, two from Buana and two more aces out of Conley.
-Newman held on to that 10-point lead for the next few points, but St. Edward's went on its own run to get right back in the set. They got it as close as 23-21, but a pair of errors by the Hilltoppers closed out the set.
Set 4
-Another ace from Conley, kills from Harvey and Braithwait, and a block out of Harvey and Buana had the Jets posted to a 6-4 lead early in the fourth.
-The Hilltoppers would turn that around with their short burst in the middle of the set, and although Higginbotham twice pulled the Jets within two points with kills, and Buana did the same, the guests would pull away to lock up the victory.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Newman
Kills: Harvey, 14. Aces: Conley, 4. Blocks: Buana, 5. Assists: Conley 39. Digs: Burton, 23.
St. Edward's
Kills: Katie Martin, Kate Hendrix, 10. Aces: Hendrix, Julia Hartley, 2. Blocks: Mikayla Parker, 10. Assists: Avalon Frantz, 18. Digs: Morgan Beckham, 24.
NOTES
-Turner (13) and Higginbotham (10) joined Harvey with double-digit kills. Conley added to her double-double total with 15 digs to go with her 39 assists, and Turner chipped in 12 digs. Kaci Copeland added 14 digs from the back row.
-The two teams combined to hit just .127 on the night, with superb blocking by both sides helping to lower that number.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets close out their first weekend at home with a noon match against Dallas Baptist Saturday back at Fugate Gymnasium.
