Mac spikers stop Sterling

BY STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

The streak is over.

McPherson College's women's volleyball team won its first KCAC match in two years here Wednesday with a four-game victory over Sterling.

Mac won the first two games 30-10 and 31-29, but Sterling stayed alive with a 30-17 win. The Bulldogs, though, didn't let it get away with a 30-26 win.

"It was a tremendous victory for us," Mac coach Nathalea Stephenson said.

The Bulldogs had been having trouble finishing matches until this one.

"We have been in situations like this before and ended up not finishing strong, and I was hoping the girls would be determined not to let that happen again and they didn't," Stephenson said.

When Sterling won the third game, some old thoughts could have crept it.

"We were a little nervous that the girls would be down and not bounce back like the match with Kansas Wesleyan when we won the first two games and lost to them in the next three," Stephenson said.

Erica Alvarez had 26 kills, Andrea Gonzales had 20 and Lisa Salazar had 14. Terra Simoneau had 74 assists.

The only downer was a season-ending ankle injury suffered by Amy Gremmer. "She was just starting to come into her own and it's going to be a big loss for us," Stephenson said.

Mac is 1-3 in the KCAC, 3-5 overall. It will play at Midland Lutheran this weekend.