Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The SWOSU Volleyball team sent out their lone senior,
Kaila Lancaster, with a victory in her final match at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center as the Bulldogs defeated East Central in straight sets on Thursday evening.
SWOSU hit .378 for the match – their second-best total of the season – including a mark above .400 in both the first and third sets and they held East Central to 18 points or less in each set.
Carly Zak and
Kelsi Schmidtberger were a dominant duo offensively, combining for 26 kills and just five attack errors. Zak put down 15 kills and hit .448 with eight digs and three blocks while Schmidtberger had 11 kills and hit .500 with two blocks to her credit.
The Bulldogs were also stout defensively, holding East Central to a hitting percentage of .100, including a negative number in the opening set. SWOSU had 43 digs, compared to 31 for ECU while also out-blocking the Tigers seven-to-four with a team-high five (one solo, four assist) from
Paige Holt.
Kayla Hebert had 34 assists and 10 digs, both team highs.
In her final home match,
Kaila Lancaster totaled seven digs, one service ace, an assist and she recorded her 22nd career kill during the third set. SWOSU's all-time leader in digs now has exactly 1,700 career digs, which is more than 500 better than the next closest player in program history.
"Tonight was a big match for our final seeding heading into the GAC Tournament," SWOSU's Head Coach,
Josh Collins said following the match. "We relied on our senior leadership in the third set after a slow start and Kaila rose to the challenge. She's had a great career and we're looking forward to her closing it out with a few more wins!"
The victory moves the Bulldogs to 18-10 on the year and 9-5 in Great American Conference play with just two matches remaining in the regular season. SWOSU is currently in fourth place in the GAC standings heading into the final week of the season, which will include road games against Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State.
