Block Party! SSU volleyball collects 15 total blocks, wins third consecutive match with straight-set triumph over Midway (25-22, 25-20, 25-17)

MIDWAY, Ky. -- Grabbing a win in a conference matchup is always crucial.

Especially when the winning decision comes on the road.

In a River States Conference bout that was held Saturday afternoon against the Midway Eagles' volleyball program, the Shawnee State Bears' volleyball program dominated play at the net, hitting .205 as a team to Midway's .095 and posting an impressive 15 blocks -- including five of the solo variety -- compared to no blocks and just eight assisted denials from the Eagles as the Bears took home its third consecutive match victory with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17) victory at Marshall Gymnasium.

Along with the above numbers, Haidyn Wamsley and Kylee Gifford, simply put, dominated play Saturday as the duo combined for 22 of Shawnee State's 40 kills as well as 10 of the Bears' 15 total blocks on Saturday. Wamsley, who posted 12 kills, four solo blocks and an assisted block, hit .286 at the net, while Gifford, who nabbed 10 kills, a solo block and four assisted swats, hit a fantastic .444. The duo had just six attack errors in their 46 attack attempts combined.

The victory was not only Shawnee State's third consecutive match victory, but the Bears' third match win in a row that came via straight-set fashion, as well.

Ava Jenkins' 16 digs, along with 11 dives from Megan Steele, backed up the frontline efforts by Wamsley and Gifford with their play in the back, while Camille McIntosh added in seven kills on the frontline as secondary support to Wamsley and Gifford. Makaela Lovely's 22 assists and Reagan Lewis' 15 passes helped Shawnee State establish its offensive attack.

With her 12 kills on Saturday, Wamsley now sits at 799 kills for her Shawnee State career -- while Jenkins holds 842 digs in her back pocket as the pair aim for significant milestones.

Set Highlights

In the opening set, Shawnee State led by a 9-6 margin off of two kills by Whytney Faulkner and a kill apiece from Steele along with Maelynn Howell -- but Midway rallied for a 6-0 run that put the Eagles ahead by a 12-9 margin.

However, Devan Spriggs' first set timeout at that juncture seemed to provide a reset -- and a much-needed boost -- to Shawnee State's gumption, as the Bears proceeded to rip off an 11-4 run behind two kills each from Wamsley, Gifford and McIntosh along with a service ace from Lewis, while Howell and Steele joined in the kill party with a spike of their own.

Midway closed the first set lead down to a 20-19 deficit after three Shawnee State errors, but after that, Shawnee State regrouped -- as Wamsley launched a pair of kills while Gifford, McIntosh and Faulkner posted one kill each to help finish the Eagles off in the opening set.

The Bears then proceeded to carry over their strong finish from the first set of play over into the second stanza -- as Wamsley posted a pair of kills while McIntosh and Gifford each added an assisted block and a kill each during an early 10-5 run by Shawnee State.

After Midway took two of the next three volleys to close the gap slightly to an 11-7 count, Shawnee State played exceptional volleyball over the next nine volleys, going on an 8-1 run to increase its lead to an 18-8 margin as Wamsley simply dominated at the net, posting two solo blocks and an assisted block while Faulkner and McIntosh added in a kill each.

Wamsley then added a third solo block as Shawnee State pushed its advantage out to a 20-11 margin, and despite a late Midway rally, the Bears' play early in the second set was too much for the Eagles to rally back from as Shawnee State got two kills from McIntosh to take the second set by a 25-20 count.

Even with Shawnee State holding a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, Gifford and Wamsley weren't satisfied as the pair proceeded to dominate the third set en route to an easy SSU triumph to close out the match. Wamsley, in fact, notched two kills and a block over her first eight volleys and helped kickstart a 5-0 Shawnee State run that pushed the Bears' lead to a 9-3 count early in the third frame of action. It was all Gifford and Wamsley from there, as over the final 29 volleys of the third set, Gifford and Wamsley combined for eight kills -- with six coming by way of the former -- to conclude the match in an impressive 25-17 third set showing.

Additional

Shawnee State (9-7, 2-3 River States Conference) will turn its attention to a Tuesday evening RSC matchup against West Virginia Tech, which will be held at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth. Game time is set for 6 p.m.