SWOSU Athletics
Doug Self, Sports Information Director
DENTON, Texas – SWOSU Volleyball capped off the opening weekend of the 2018 season with a pair of victories on Saturday, coming from 0-2 down to defeat St. Edward’s before taking care of Northwood in four sets.
The Bulldogs finish the weekend with a record of 3-1, which sets a new program-best for the best record during opening weekend. SWOSU returns to action on Tuesday evening when they head to Lawton for a non-conference matchup against Cameron.
SWOSU 3, St. Edward’s 2
The Bulldogs overcame an early 0-2 deficit to come from behind and defeat the Hilltoppers in another five-set thriller. St. Edward’s used large runs to win the first two sets 25-21, 25-22 and they had a lead late in the third set before the Bulldogs got four kills split between Elizabeth McVicker and Danusia Sipa Borgeaud as part of a five-point run that put SWOSU up 22-18. McVicker and Borgeaud again combined for back-to-back kills to end the set at 25-22 and extend the match.
SWOSU was on the ropes in the fourth set, trailing 19-15 before a service error by SEU jump started a 7-2 run that included kills from Emily Holm and Borgeaud along with a service ace from McVicker that made it 22-21. SWOSU pushed ahead with a kill by Sofia Gruden and an assist block from Gruden and Holm before Jenny Tackett put down a kill and a Hilltopper hitting error ended the set at 27-25.
With momentum squarely in their corner, the Dawgs seized momentum early in the fifth set and never looked back, opening up a 6-1 lead with six kills from four different players. SWOSU rode that momentum to a 15-8 set win, which saw the first 14 points scored offensively (13 kills, one service ace) before a St. Edward’s attack error at match point ended the contest.
SWOSU was led offensively by Borgeaud, who put down 17 kills and added 22 digs for a double-double. Gruden and McVicker had 12 kills and two blocks apiece, with McVicker adding two service aces. Kaitlyn Dillon recorded a team-leading 29 digs as one of five Bulldogs with more than 10 digs in the match. Allie Hoang posted a double-double with 29 assists and 23 digs, as did Avery who finished with 26 assists and 16 digs. Klemson Lancaster added 17 digs to go along with three kills.
SWOSU 3, Northwood 1
Borgeaud again led the charge for SWOSU in the tournament finale, putting down 16 kills to go along with 10 digs for her third double-double of the weekend. The Bulldogs took the opening set by a 26-24 count before Northwood evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the second set.
SWOSU controlled the final two sets from the outset, building a 5-0 lead in the third and leading by as many as seven before the Timberwolves got back within one at 15-14. The Dawgs rotated around to the serve of Kaitlyn Dillon up 19-15 and the junior libero served the set out with six consecutive points – including three aces – to end it at 25-15.
The Bulldogs again jumped on top in the fourth, going up 8-2 on a kill by Gruden. In this set, however, there would be no letdown as SWOSU never allowed Northwood to get any closer than five points the rest of the way. Borgeaud took over down the stretch, putting away three kills in the final five points – including match point at 25-14.
SWOSU’s offense was balanced beyond Borgeaud, with Hoang, Holm and Gruden each putting away five kills. Hoang also finished with a double-double of 26 assists and a team-best 16 digs while Dillon (15), Lancaster (10) and Kodee Avery (10) also reached double figures.