Wildcats Secure Second Straight Sweep with 3-0 Victory over Yellowjackets

BALDWIN CITY - After defeating Peru State in straight sets on Tuesday, Baker volleyball chalked up another conference sweep at home with a 3-0 victory over Graceland on Friday night in the Collins Center.

The Wildcats rolled to a commanding 25-14 win in the first set before having to grind out a couple of tough wins in the final two sets. Baker came back in the second to win, 25-22, and finished things off with a 25-19 win in the third to earn BU's fifth straight home victory.

Both sides hit under .100 for the match, but the Wildcats tallied eight aces and benefited from 16 service errors from the Yellowjackets. Kohanihokuao Misipeka, Brie Reedy and Aby Widhalm each registered seven kills to lead the BU attack. Widhalm and Reese Kehl both recorded 11 digs, while Kate Reese reeled off a season–best three aces.

In the opening set, Baker turned a string of four straight points into a 10-1 run and stretched it out to a 14-2 advantage to lead 17-6 in a dominating start to the night. Aces from Reese and Kylie Murray helped fuel the run and Widhalm tacked on back-to-back aces to push the lead over double digits.

Along with some generous points from the GU service line, Reedy and Abby Elffner added attacks down the stretch and Widhalm capped the monstrous first set with a kill to give BU a 1-0 lead.

The Yellowjackets began the second set with more troubles from their serves as Baker claimed the first four points of the frame. A couple of kills from Widhalm made it a 10-7 lead before Graceland hit its best stretch of the night to swing the lead over to its side.

Trailing by three at 18-15, the Wildcats won three straight points with an ace from Reese that poured salt on a GU service error from the preceding point, followed by a kill from Reedy to tie the match. Murray chipped in another ace as BU started to create some separation late. Misipeka and Reedy finished off the set with a block to steal a 25-22 win.

The Wildcats continued to control things in the third set with six consecutive points during Misipeka's serve to take a quick 6-1 lead. They put together a 7-0 run to lead by double digits with kills from Reedy and Elffner sparking the rally.

Leading by 17-7, Baker saw its lead shrink down to five points as the Yellowjackets looked to make a last-ditch effort. A couple more costly service errors put BU on the doorstep though and Elffner delivered the last point to seal a second straight sweep.

With five straight wins at home, the Wildcats have now earned a sweep in three of their last four matches in Collins, including back-to-back 3-0 victories. It was their fifth overall sweep of the season, with a 3-0 victory over Clarke a couple of weeks ago (Sept. 26), plus a pair of sweeps during non-conference play over Tabor (Aug. 22) and UHSP (Aug. 30).

Baker has won eight of its last 10 matches to boast a 13-6 overall record and a 7-4 record against conference teams.

The Wildcats will begin a three-match road swing next weekend with a matchup at Central Methodist on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in Fayette, Mo.

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