WICHITA, Kan. — The Friends University Falcons dropped a 3-0 match to the Sterling College Lady Warriors in KCAC action today (Oct. 10) inside the Garvey Center.
The Falcons hung close in each set, with a
Gabbie Taylor kill, a
Lynzee Neal ace and two Sterling attack errors cutting a 17-11 opening set deficit to 17-15. Later down just 22-21, the Lady Warriors came through with three of the final four points to win 25-22.
Sterling then took the second set by an idential 25-22 score. Like the first set, the Falcons found themselves in an early hole when kills by
Sofia Mekelburg,
Natalie Castillo,
Sadie White and
Erin Cheatum helped trim a 13-7 deficit to just 15-13. Another kill by Castillo again brought the Falcons within 22-21, but a killy by Aliya McClanahan sparked another 3-1 spurt to close out the set and put the Lady Warriors up 2-0.
The third set saw the Falcons jump out to an early lead with four kills from Mekelburg and two kills apiece from Taylor and White fueling an 11-7 lead. The Lady Warriors then scored four straight to pull even that set the tone for a tight set the rest of the way. It was again a 22-21 lead for the Lady Warriors when a kill by McClanahan, an attack error and a kill from Kaira Rodriguez finished the set and the match for Sterling 25-21.
Mekelburg led the Falcons with 13 kills and added five digs.
Gabriella Lujan finished with a career-high 23 assists and contributed eight digs. Taylor recorded 15 digs and nine kills, with
Bailey Wilson also collecting 15 digs for Friends.
McClanahan paced the Lady Warriors with 11 kills and Taylor Lindsey recorded a team-high 17 digs. Grace Battershell finished with a team-leading 17 assists, while Keala Wilson Brown added 13 assists and 10 digs for Sterling.
The Falcons will now hit the road and play at Avila University Wednesday night (Oct. 14) at 7 pm in Kansas City, Mo.
