McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College volleyball team had a big night, playing in front of the home faithful for the first time this season. The Tigers hosted a triangular with Langston University, and Sterling College coming to town.

The Tigers opened the day with Sooner Athletic Conference opponent Langston University in the 3:00 pm. Both teams came into the contest looking for their first conference win. The Tigers played "lights out" volleyball, and ended up taking down the Lions in straight sets, 25-20, 25-11, 25-14.

In the night cap, the Tigers squared off against the Sterling College, playing the Warriors for the third time this season. The Warriors won the first meeting of the season during the first weekend of competition in five sets, on the Warriors' home court. A week later, the Tigers dismantled the Warriors up in Manhattan, Kan., in straight sets. In the rubber match on Friday night, the Tigers jumped out to a quick two sets to none lead, taking set one, 25-20, and the second, 25-15. Cruising along, they hit a speed bump in the third set, and the Warriors were able to steal the set 25-12. The Tigers were down by as many as five points, twice in set four, but rallied back each time, and eventually pulled away down the stretch to win the fourth, 25-20, for a 3-1 match win.

Key Statistic

In both matches, serving was the key to the Tigers' victory. In the first match against the Lions, the Tigers tallied 11 service aces, to just six errors. Against Sterling, they added nine more aces, and nine errors.

By the Numbers

Against the Lions, the Tigers hit .190 averaging just over 10 kills per set. They had 33 kills on 79 swings with 18 errors.

They assisted on all 33 of their kills.

Defensively, they were credited with 45 digs and 6 blocks.

In the match against the Warriors, fatigued affected the Tiger attack. They ended up hitting .044 with 42 kills on 137 attempts with 36 errors.

The Tigers again assisted on all 42 of their kills, and on the defensive side of the ball, they finished with 66 digs and 3 blocks.

Tiger Leaders

Vs Langston

Kills: Amanda Dotter (8)

Digs: Jacque Freeman (10)

Assists: McKenzee Cook (30)

Aces: Kamryn Vanatta (4)

Blocks: Ashanti Sampsell, Amanda Dotter (3)

Vs Sterling

Kills: Amanda Dotter (13)

Digs: Jacque Freeman (13)

Assists: McKenzee Cook (34)

Aces: Jacque Freeman, Kamryn Vanatta (4)

Blocks: Amanda Dotter (2)

Coach Quote

"Very proud of our team. We had good engagement from everybody. Good energy from the bench as well as solid play as a team. It was nice to see our team get into a groove and compete. We are starting to see the chemistry build and our hard work paid off. Langston and Sterling are both good teams and are tough to play. Our team showed good grit this evening and played well!" – Coach Rick Hughes

Next Up

The Friday night sweep, puts the Tigers at 5-8 overall on the season and 1-3 in the SAC. They will square off against crosstown rival McPherson College in their next match. The Tigers will host the Bulldogs on Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm at Jerry E. Alexander Arena.