By McPherson College Athletics
BELLEVUE, Neb. (MacBulldogs.com) — The McPherson College Bulldogs continue their red-hot start as they completed another pair of sweeps against the Grand View University Vikings and the Doane University Tigers on Saturday (Aug. 24) in the GoSarpy.com tournament to push their record to 4-0 to start the new year.
GAME ONE – McPherson 3, Grand View 0
After tying the set at two, the Bulldogs would go on an absolute tear, scoring five straight points thanks to a pair of kills by Brooke McHale. McHale would continue to leave her mark as she also had a pair of aces consecutively to push the lead up to 11-3. Grand View would battle back and cut the lead to as little as two.
The Vikings and the Bulldogs would continue to go back and forth throughout the rest of the set with Grand View tying it at 22 apiece. MC would reach set point, but the Vikings quickly tied it back up at 24. MC would finish the job, 26-24, thanks to a McHale kill.
Set two would once again see the Bulldogs go on a big run to take a substantial lead. After Grand View took an early 3-2 lead, MC scored five straight points and maintained that energy throughout the set and win it, 25-11 to take a 2-0 match lead.
MC hit an absurd .714 and recorded zero errors throughout set two.
The third and final set would be one full of runs. The Vikings benefited from the first one, trimming a once 9-4 MC lead down to a 9-7 lead. MC would score six of the next seven rally points to make it 16-9. Grand View went on a pair of runs, the second of which would make it a 23-21 MC lead. The Bulldogs held on and scored two of the last three points to complete the sweep.
Enya Fierens and McHale tied for the team lead in kills in the game with both recording 13 in the match. Celestina Retumban continued her success from Friday’s games with 18 digs in the match.
GAME TWO – McPherson 3, Doane 0
The Bulldogs would carry the momentum from the first game of the day right into the second game. After seeing the set reach a 6-6 tie, MC would go on a massive 8-0 run to take a commanding lead that would be held throughout the rest of the set. A Doane service error sealed set one and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Set two would again see the Tigers and the Bulldogs going back and forth. Thanks to another big McPherson run, the lead would extend to 19-13. Another Doane error capped off a 25-18 set victory for MC to make it a 2-0 match lead.
In the third set, the Tigers come out swinging, taking a quick 6-2 lead. However, the Bulldogs would not go down without a fight. MC scored four straight points to tie the set at six apiece. It was back and forth until the Bulldogs flexed their muscles to win set three, 25-21, and secure a fourth consecutive sweep.
McHale would once again lead the Bulldogs with 11 kills. Fierens would finish just behind her with nine. Rachel Easom would lead the team with 14 digs in the game.
The Bulldogs will return to action next weekend in Sioux City, Iowa for four tough opponents. They open the tournament on Friday where they’ll match up with ninth-ranked Jamestown at 12:30 p.m. and Saint Ambrose at 5:30 p.m.
