Seward Downs Hutchinson on the Road in 5 Sets

LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward volleyball team secured a 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 17-25, 15-12) road win over the Hutchinson Blue Dragons at the Hutchinson Sport Arena on Wednesday evening.

Seward (6-10, 3-2 KJCCC) saw the Blue Dragons (9-8, 2-4) rally to force a fifth set but the Saints were able to lead wall-to-wall in the fifth set to pick up the win. Seward has now played in six five-set matches this season and are 4-2 in them.

Reigning KJCCC Player of the Week Mariana Silva again led Seward with 22 kills, finishing with a double-double also having 11 digs. Nicolly Chaves added 15 kills, Ana Nikolic had 14 digs and Jhulya Carlotti had a double-double of 39 assists and 11 digs. Mireya Kawaguchi finished with a season-high tying 23 digs.

Seward was outhit .130 to .125 in the match. They out blocked Hutch 18-14 and had nine service aces to HCC's seven.

The first set was back-and-forth with three lead changes. Seward stormed out to a 10-4 lead and later led 18-14 before a 5-0 Blue Dragon run saw them take the lead. Hutchinson ultimately won the set 25-23.

Seward hit a match-high .300 in the second set on the way to a 25-18 win to knot the match up at 1-1. The Saints then built a 2-1 lead with a 25-20 set three win, highlighted by four Silva kills down the stretch.

The Saints hit a match-low .022 in the fourth set as Hutch rolled to a 25-17 win despite Seward building an early 6-0 lead. The fifth set was all Saints as they never trailed despite Hutch pulling within one at 12-11.

Seward will take on its fifth ranked opponent of the season Saturday as they travel to Colby for a 2 p.m. match vs. the Trojans.

STAY CONNECTED

Click THIS LINK to get Seward County Athletics news straight to your inbox.

SUPPORT THE SAINTS

Click HERE to become a member of the Saints Booster Club. Funds gathered from the booster club go towards student-athlete recruitment, equipment, gameday operations, facilities, the student-athlete banquet and much more!