LAWRENCE, Kan. — Sterling swept all three of their opponents at the Haskell Invitational, starting with a dominant performance over the host school Haskell on Friday, Sept. 4, winning 25-18, 25-13, 25-21. The Lady Warriors followed this performance with a win over Cottey (MO), 25-16, 25-22 and 25-20, and finished off the invitational with straight set wins over Philander Smith (AR), 25-11, 25-12 and 25-15 on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Sterling v. Haskell (3-0, W)
The Lady Warriors hit .220 and held the Indians to a .052 hitting percentage. Sterling also finished with advantages of 34-27 in kills, 40-31 in digs and 10-3 in total blocks.
The Lady Warriors started slow but answered a 5-4 deficit in the opening set by moving ahead behind a block from Gracie Kirchhoff and Chloe Schmidt, a Schmidt kill from Keala Wilson Brown and later another block by Schmidt and Kaira Rodriguez. Grace Battershell added a service ace and Schmidt followed with another kill as Sterling stretched the score to 10-6, then the Lady Warriors responded to a push by the Indians with a Battershell kill and a Brooklyn Kuster ace for a 13-9 lead. Sterling kept separation through the middle of the set with kills from Madison Lundeen, Kaira Rodriguez and Schmidt, reaching 20-15 before Brooklyn Kuster‘s serve helped move the margin to 23-16. After the Indians scored twice late, Schmidt put Sterling at set point with a kill assisted by Battershell. A block by Wilson Brown and Aliya McClanahan closed the 25-18 set win.
Sterling took control of the second set with a six-point push after the Indians got within 9-8, getting a Wilson Brown kill, a Wilson Brown/McClanahan block, kills from Lundeen and McClanahan, and a Taylor “Dru” Lindsey ace to move ahead 15-8. Earlier, Sterling erased a 7-4 deficit with five straight points, including a Wilson Brown kill from Grace Battershell and a Wilson Brown block, to go in front 9-7. The Lady Warriors kept adding separation with contributions across the front row, including a Lundeen kill from Wilson Brown, a McClanahan kill from Wilson Brown, and a Chloe Schmidt/Karlie Ashley block as the margin reached 20-11. Battershell added a late ace, Wilson Brown put Sterling at set point assisting on a KcAnna Keiswetter kill, and Sterling finished the set 25-13 on an Indians attack error.
The Lady Warriors closed the third set by withstanding the Indians’ late push and taking a 25-21 set win, with the final point coming on an Indians service error after the Indians had cut a 24-18 Sterling lead to 24-21. Earlier, McClanahan helped Sterling stay in front during the opening stretch with three kills, and Schmidt added a kill as the Lady Warriors moved ahead 8-5. After the Indians tied the set at 12-12, Sterling responded with an ace from Kaleigh Bell, then used blocks involving Schmidt, Rodriguez and Ashley before Wilson Brown’s kill made it 17-13. Battershell assisted kills by Wilson Brown and Lundeen later in the set, and Wilson Brown’s ace put Sterling at 24-18 before the Indians’ final rally fell short.
Wilson Brown led Sterling with 17 assists and added six kills, seven digs, four blocks and one service ace. Schmidt recorded six total blocks and finished with six kills on a .625 hitting percentage. McClanahan posted seven kills while hitting .500 and added three block assists. Lindsey collected 12 digs, two assists and one service ace.
Sterling v. Cottey (3-0, W)
The closest set came in the second, where Sterling answered a one-point deficit with a 4-0 run and went on to take the set 25-22. The Lady Warriors finished with 37 kills and a .216 hitting percentage while holding the Comets to 29 kills and .099.
Sterling separated late in the first set after Cottey pulled within 15-14, taking 10 of the final 12 points to win 25-16. Earlier, the Lady Warriors answered a 12-10 deficit with four straight points, getting a Ashley kill, a Cottey attack error, a Schmidt kill and another Ashley kill to move ahead 14-12. After the Comets got back within one, Sterling added points on two opponent errors and a Lundeen kill, then Lindsey’s service turn moved the score from 19-15 to 23-15 with a Wilson Brown kill from Lindsey and a Wilson Brown/McClanahan block among the points. Sterling spread its offense with four kills apiece from Ashley and Abigail Howard, and Howard closed the set with a kill from Wilson Brown.
The Lady Warriors got out to an early lead in the second set, building a 7-1 lead behind kills from Wilson Brown, McClanahan and Howard, plus a Keiswetter service ace. After Cottey cut into the margin, Sterling pushed back from 12-8 to 16-8 during Brooklyn Kuster‘s serve, with Wilson Brown and Lundeen adding kills and Wilson Brown combining with Schmidt on a block. The Comets later answered from 16-8 to 16-15 and then moved in front at 21-20, but McClanahan tied the set with a kill, Wilson Brown followed with a service ace, McClanahan and Howard teamed for a block, and Howard added a late kill before a Cottey attack error closed the set with the Warriors claiming the 25-22 win.
Sterling turned the third set after falling behind 14-13, moving ahead on a Comet setting error and an Emma Butler service ace before building an 18-15 lead on an Ashley kill and a Hannah Rupp ace. Earlier, the Lady Warriors traded points through a tight opening stretch, getting kills from Gracie Kirchhoff, McClanahan, Schmidt, Wilson Brown and Howard, plus a Keiswetter ace, as neither side created much separation through 13-13. After Cottey closed to 18-17, Sterling answered with three Kirchhoff kills — two assisted by Butler and one by Wilson Brown — and another Comet setting error to reach 22-17. McClanahan and Kirchhoff added late kills, and the Lady Warriors closed the set on Kirchhoff’s kill from Wilson Brown for a 25-20 finish.
Howard led Sterling with eight kills while hitting .438 and added a block assist. Wilson Brown finished with 19 assists, six kills, five digs, three block assists and a service ace. Keiswetter recorded 10 digs and two service aces. McClanahan added seven kills while hitting .357 and contributed two block assists.
Sterling v. Philander Smith (3-0, W)
Sterling broke open the second set with a 10-0 run, turning an 11-10 score into a 21-10 advantage. Sterling hit .293 with 38 kills and 10 total blocks while holding Philander Smith (AR) to a -.040 hitting percentage.
The Lady Warriors opened up the first set with a 6-0 run from 13-8 to 19-8, getting kills from McClanahan, Schmidt and Kirchhoff while Bell served through the final four points of the stretch. Earlier, Sterling established the opening flow with a Wilson Brown and McClanahan block on the first rally, then added kills from Lundeen, Wilson Brown and Kirchhoff to build a 7-2 lead. The Panthers continued to answer through Ja’Niya Sanders, but Sterling kept adding sideouts and blocks, including a Kirchhoff and Schmidt block that made it 9-3 and a McClanahan/Rodriguez block that pushed the score to 13-7. After Philander Smith briefly stopped the run at 19-9 and added an ace, Schmidt answered with another kill, and Sterling closed the set with Kuster serving an ace before two Aleria Lane attack errors finished the 25-11 win.
Sterling opened the second set with pressure at the net, getting a block from McClanahan and Rodriguez on the first point before adding kills from McClanahan, Kirchhoff, Rodriguez, Wilson Brown and Battershell through an 11-10 start. The Lady Warriors went on a decisive 10-0 run which included back-to-back blocks by Schmidt and Rodriguez, a Schmidt kill, consecutive Bell service aces, a Rodriguez kill and two Kirchhoff kills. After the Panthers briefly stopped the run with two points, the Lady Warriors answered with a Rodriguez kill and two more Kirchhoff kills before closing the set 25-12.
Sterling seized control of the third set immediately, scoring the first nine points and using Wilson Brown’s service turn to build a 9-0 lead with two aces, three Lundeen kills and a McClanahan/Howard block. Philander Smith got on the board and later put together a brief stretch to move from 15-4 to 15-7, but Schmidt answered with a kill assisted by Battershell to keep Sterling in front. Howard and Wilson Brown added late kills as Sterling moved toward set point, and Battershell’s serving rotation helped push the lead to 24-14 with kills from Wilson Brown and Schmidt. After the Panthers extended the set by one point, Schmidt finished it with a kill from Battershell for a 25-15 set win and the final result.
Schmidt led Sterling with 10 kills while hitting .562 and added five total blocks. Wilson Brown finished with a double-double including 20 assists, 11 digs while also contributing four kills, two aces and two block assists. McClanahan recorded five total blocks, including one solo block, and added four kills. Kirchhoff posted seven kills, five digs and two block assists.
Up next, the Lady Warriors (9-0) will take on Manhattan Christian () in Manhattan, Kan. on Friday, Sept. 18. at 6 p.m.
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