WINFIELD, Kan. — The Friends University Falcons defeated the Southwestern College Lady Builders in four sets tonight (Nov. 5), securing the match with set scores of 11-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24.

Following Southwestern's big first set win, the Falcons trailed in the second set 8-4 when a kill by Jayde Gonzalez ignited a 7-2 spurt to put Friends on top. 

Then leading 23-22, kills from Maysen Bruschke and Gabbie Taylor evened the match at 1-1. 

Friends overcame an early deficit to secure a 25-23 victory in the third set against the Lady Builders. After trailing 15-9, Friends rallied with a 6-0 run featuring key kills from Taylor and Natalie Castillo, narrowing the gap. Bruschke's kill gave the Falcons a 23-22 lead and Friends went on to win 25-23 to jump ahead 2-1. 

The fourth set was another tight one, as kills from Bruschke and Castillo helped save two match points down 24-21 and then a pair of attack errors by Southwestern put things away for the Falcons 26-24. 

Hildebrand led Friends with 11 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, adding four total blocks. Castillo contributed 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in three sets, tallying 10 points. Emma Sargeant facilitated the offense with 19 assists, while Sofia Mekelburg added 15 assists and nine digs. Jacey Moulton (12 digs) and Sutton Thompson (10 digs) each recorded double-figure digs. 

Avery Riedel led Southwestern with 21 digs and Ashlyn Tag was a standout in scoring, amassing 15 kills on a .371 hitting percentage. Macey Collier paced the Lady Builders with six total blocks and Natalie Blaufuss had a team-high 22 assists. 

The Falcons will now wrap up the regular season Saturday evening (Nov. 8) at Kansas Wesleyan University starting at 6 pm in Salina, Kan.