SIOUX CITY, Iowa (MacBulldogs.com) – The McPherson College Bulldogs opened pool play of the NAIA Tournament, but fell in a five-set thriller to the St. Thomas University Bobcats at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
“Tonight was a battle,” head coach Cory Cahill said. “We never gave up and we fought the whole way. Though we didn’t win, we were successful tonight.”
The Bulldogs comeback bid started midway through the third set, using a 6-0 burst that included a monster block by Hadley Waldren and Zoe Fernandez. STU wouldn’t go quietly, after a trio of runs pulled them within 24-22. However, Enya Fierens gave the Bulldogs life with a kill to make it a 2-1 deficit in the match.
St. Thomas scored the first three points of the fourth set after Hope Leavy-Gaskins and Tayla Barnes teamed up for a pair of blocks. The teams traded blows until three straight points by the Bobcats, that included back-to-back kills by Tayla Barnes pushed their lead to 12-8.
The Bulldogs began to chip away at the deficit before taking control late, thanks to five straight points including back-to-back blocks by Waldren and Daniela Jimenez.
Once again, the Bobcats made things interesting late in the set, trimming the lead to 23-21, but a kill by Waldren followed by an attacking error by the Bobcats forced the deciding set.
The Bobcats raced out to a 7-3 advantage in the fifth set, but the Bulldogs battled back to knot the score at 10-10. However, from there, STU took control to finish it off.
Brooke McHale led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and added a team-high 18 digs. Jimenez finished with 12 kills, while Waldren was efficient with 10 kills on 22 attempts. Katelynn Brogan led the team with 28 assists, while Raegan Murphy added 25 helpers.
The Bulldog finished with 12 blocks, led by Waldren who had one solo and eight blocking assists. Jimenez and Katie Warden each added four blocking assists.
On the other side of the net, the Bobcats were led offensively by Maria Eduarda Ramos with 17 kills, while Barnes finished with 15 kills. Payton Bertke had 52 assists. The Bobcats were also a force at the net, finishing with 13 blocks.
MC got off to a slow start in the first set with errors mounting to allow the Bobcats to jump out to a 6-2 lead early. STU extended that lead to 17-8 after a block by Ramos and Barnes. The Bulldogs tried to cut into the lead, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
In the second set, the Bulldogs carried their momentum over, grabbing a 12-8 advantage, but a 5-0 scoring run by the Bobcats pushed them to a 19-16 edge. MC leveled the score thanks to kills by Fierens and Jimenez, but STU closed with four straight points to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
“I am very proud of my girls, not for how they played tonight, but for how they held themselves in some big moments of adversity,” Cahill said. “They represented McPherson Volleyball and McPherson College exactly how they should.”
The Bulldogs are back in action in Sioux City tomorrow night (Dec. 5), needing a win over tenth-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan to extend their stay. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. inside the Tyson Event Center.
“Now we turn our attention to the most important game of our season. The next one.”
