BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (MacBulldogs.com) — The Bulldogs took the No. 6 team in the country to the absolute limit on Saturday (Sep 21) afternoon. Unfortunately, MC came up just short of pulling off the upset as they fell to the Eagles, 3-2.
Set one would be full of momentum swings for both sides, the first of which would be in favor of the Bulldogs. After finding themselves down 3-1 early in the set, MC would score nine of the next 12 rally points to take a 10-6 lead. Almost immediately, the Eagles would storm back and cut the lead down to just two, making the score 11-9. McPherson came right back, getting the lead back up to four and forcing OKWU to call a timeout. The Eagles made one last run, but MC stayed together to win set one, 25-23.
Oklahoma Wesleyan showed why they’re one of the top teams in the entire country to start set two, scoring nine of the first 12 rally points and forcing MC to call a timeout. McPherson took the early punch and responded by storming back by scoring 11 of the next 14 rally points to take a 14-13 lead. OKWU would reseize the momentum and rode it to a 25-20 win in set two.
Set three would show just how good these two teams are as neither team could build up a lead larger than two rally points with any lead generated would be taken away just as quickly as they were built up. The first lead greater than two was taken by the Eagles, who took a 21-19 lead and wouldn’t surrender it the rest of the way, winning set three 25-21.
The Bulldogs refused to die, keeping within striking distance of the Eagles in set four. The set would reach a balance point when both teams reached 20 rally points as from that point onward, the Bulldogs and the Eagles would battle back and forth consistently with neither team holding a lead for long. The stalemate finally was broken by MC, winning the set 26-24 and forcing a fifth set to determine the match winner.
Set five continued the trend that set four began to build up as neither team could take a commanding lead through the first eight rally points as it was deadlocked at four. The next four all went to the Bulldogs, making it 8-5. OKWU stormed back to tie it up at 10. The two teams went back and forth again with OKWU reaching match point with a 14-13 lead. It looked as if the Bulldogs had tied it up after an Eagles attack attempt went out of bounds, but the call was reversed by the officials and the Eagles won the set 15-13 and took the match victory.
Brooke McHale led the Bulldogs with 17 kills in the match, followed closely by Katie Warden who added 16 kills of her own. Raegan Murphy, the recipient of back-to-back KCAC Setter of the Week awards, had another stellar day with 28 assists along with eight digs.
The Bulldogs return to the Sport Center for their next matchup as they take on another KCAC opponent in RV Kansas Wesleyan University. Game starts at 7 p.m.
