McPherson, Kan. — Oklahoma Wesleyan Volleyball opened the McPherson College Invite with a hard-fought five-set victory over Loyola University New Orleans on Friday morning, defeating the Wolf Pack 3-2.
The Lady Eagles showed resilience throughout the match, battling back twice before closing out the contest by scores of 20-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-12. The victory moved the Oklahoma Wesleyan Lady Ealges to 3-9 on the season after a rough patch for the Lady Eagles.
After Loyola claimed the opening set 25-20, the Lady Eagles responded with one of their strongest offensive sets of the match. OKWU recorded 18 kills while hitting .260 in the second frame, evening the match with a 25-18 victory.
Loyola regained the advantage in the third, taking the set 25-21 and putting the Lady Eagles one set away from defeat. Oklahoma Wesleyan answered again in the fourth. The Eagles produced 15 kills and held off the Wolf Pack for a 25-23 win, forcing a decisive fifth set.
With the match on the line, OKWU delivered. The Eagles recorded eight kills in the final frame and hit .182 on their way to a 15-12 victory, completing the comeback and securing the five-set win.
Maria Andrea Santa Cruz Cossich led the Eagles offensively, finishing with a team-high 19 kills while hitting .231. She also contributed three total blocks and finished with a match-high 21 points. Maia Rubio followed closely with 18 kills and 12 digs, while Anja Grkinic added 13 kills on a .267 hitting percentage.
Jaylea Laughlin directed the OKWU offense with an impressive 51 assists while also adding 10 digs. Defensively, Maria Luisa Caycedo anchored the back row with a match-high 27 digs, while Anneliese Schonauer added 16 digs and two service aces.
The Lady Eagles finished with 59 kills, 56 assists, 87 digs and five service aces. OKWU's serving proved to be a difference-maker, as Loyola did not record an ace in the match.
McPherson, Kan. — Oklahoma Wesleyan Volleyball battled Central Methodist University through five sets Friday at the McPherson College Invite, but the Lady Eagles came up just short in a 3-2 loss.
Central Methodist took the match by scores of 25-20, 13-25, 19-25, 25-21 and 15-10. The loss moved OKWU to 3-10 on the season.
After dropping the opening set 25-20, Oklahoma Wesleyan responded in dominant fashion. The Lady Eagles turned in an outstanding offensive performance in the second set, recording 14 kills without an attack error on 24 attempts for a .583 hitting percentage. OKWU rolled to a 25-13 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
The Lady Eagles carried that momentum into the third set, hitting .522 with 14 kills and just two errors. OKWU controlled the frame 25-19 to take a 2-1 advantage and move within one set of the victory.
Central Methodist answered in the fourth. After the teams battled through a tight frame, CMU broke a 21-21 tie by scoring the final four points to take the set 25-21 and force a decisive fifth.
In the final set, Central Methodist gained the early advantage. OKWU battled to keep the match within reach, but CMU closed out the fifth 15-10 to secure the five-set victory.
Maria Andrea Santa Cruz Cossich delivered a huge offensive performance for the Lady Eagles, finishing with a match-high 29 kills on 54 attempts while hitting .389. She also added nine digs, two service aces and two total blocks, accounting for 32.5 points.
Amanda Schaffner added nine kills and led OKWU at the net with four total blocks. Jaylea Laughlin directed the offense with 48 assists while adding 12 digs and three kills. Maria Luisa Caycedo led the defensive effort with 15 digs, while Maia Rubio recorded 11 digs and a team-high four service aces.
Despite the final result, Oklahoma Wesleyan held the statistical advantage in nearly every major category. The Lady Eagles finished with 56 kills to Central Methodist's 40, 12 service aces to CMU's eight, nine blocks to five, 53 assists to 35 and 73 digs to 58.
OKWU will look to bounce back as play continues at the McPherson College Invite.
