BEL AIRE, Kan. — Continuing an impressive week of play, the Newman volleyball team opened Heartland Conference play with a 3-0 win over Lubbock Christian and followed it up with a 3-0 nonconference victory over Southern Nazarene Saturday afternoon at Wichita Hoops.
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Key Sequence
Trailing 18-15 in a tight first set, the Jets (7-9, 1-0 Heartland) rallied for three straight points to tie it. After the Chaparrals (3-9, 0-2 Heartland) scored the next point to take the lead, Newman burst out to the next four, with a block and two kills from Crystal Powell giving Newman the lead it would hold onto and turn into a 25-23, 25-14, 25-22 sweep.
How It Happened
-The Lady Chaps got the first two points of the match, with Newman taking its own lead with a 3-0 run to make it 6-4. It remained close, with LCU bumping out to a three-point lead, but the Jets found a rhythm to shoot ahead. The Chaps got to within one late, but kills by Emily Harvey made it 23-21 and 24-22, and an error gave the Jets the 1-0 lead in the match.
-The momentum kept going for Newman to start the second, scoring the first six points and shooting out to a 10-1 lead with Harvey going for two kills and Kayla Turner adding a pair of aces. The Jets maintained a healthy lead throughout the set, going up 16-2, with two kills from Sarah Peterson helping another 5-0 run.
-An early 5-1 advantage in the third came with help from a kill and an ace out of Turner, and the Jets never trailed, and were tied just once at 18-18. Megan Pedersen posted two straight kills to help bump the lead back out to 21-19, and back-to-back kills from Harvey finished off the match and the first Heartland win of the season.
SOUTHERN NAZARENE
Key Sequence
In a tight first set that featured 12 ties and four lead changes, the Jets found themselves down 23-22 to the Crimson Storm (6-8). Two SNU errors gave them set point, but the guests tied it up one more time. Newman didn't let it go any farther though, getting a kill from Pedersen and a big block out of Turner and Yemima Buana to seal a 26-24 win and cruise to a second straight sweep, 26-24, 25-22, 25-7.
How It Happened
-A 4-0 run by the Storm posted them to a 6-3 lead early. Turner put up two straight kills, Powell and Pedersen added a block and Harvey a kill in a 4-1 run that tied things back up again at 10-10. Harvey kills bookended a four-point burst that gave the Jets their biggest lead of the set at 14-11, but things remained close until Newman squeaked out the set win.
-Although the second set was close, the Jets never trailed, opening up with a 4-1 lead thanks to two kills and block from Harvey. Newman opened up the lead to 16-9 with a 6-1 run, but SNU closed things up late, getting as close as 24-22 before a Pedersen kill closed it.
-A lopsided third set finished off the match. Newman hit .455 in the set, while the Storm was held to -.333. The Jets scored the first eight points on the strength of three blocks, and built leads of 13-1, 17-3 and 21-5 before an Anna Burton kill, a Pedersen ace and a kill by Powell locked it up.
NOTES
-Newman put together two of its best offensive performances of the season Saturday, hitting a season-high .311 against SNU and hitting .301 against LCU. The Jets' recent impressive blocking continued as well, as they put up 11 to match a season high against the Storm, and added eight against the Chaps.
-Pedersen and Harvey each notched double-digit kills in both matches, with Harvey going for 15 on .412 hitting against LCU. Reagan Roth put up 19 assists against the Chaps, and Pedersen had 20 against the Storm.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets start their first conference road trip of the season with a trek to St. Edward's Thursday.
