REDDING, Calif. - The women's volleyball team opened the second round of conference play against the Cal Pac leader University of St. Katherine Firebirds.
The Red Hawks came into today's game a perfect 6-0 at home as they hovered around the sixth and final playoff spot.
However, the Firebirds put the first blemish on Simpson's home record as they defeated the Red Hawks 3-1 in four sets.
The first set was a true nail bitter as the Firebirds grabbed an early lead that they commanded throughout the game.
But the Red Hawks showed life as they erased a 19-13 deficit to grab the lead 25-24.
The Firebirds prevailed thanks to a couple of attacking errors by Simpson and an ace to close out the first set 27-25.
The second set was all Firebirds as they went up 2-0 with a 25-13 set two victory.
The Red Hawks answered back in set three with a 25-20 victory as
Katie Graham registered a couple of key kills late to put Simpson on the board.
In the end, USK showed why they are the #22 ranked team in the nation as they responded with an 11-2 run to put the game on ice.
Mallory Swenson and
Tiana Nihipali shouldered the load of kills as they accounted for 28 out of the team's 39 kills.
Madison Kammuller had a team-leading 19 digs and
Kayla Somontan registered 13 digs and 32 assists.
With the loss, and Providence Christian losing Simpson now sits in the sixth and final playoff spot with Providence Christian following close behind.
Simpson will have a big game tomorrow with playoff implications as they take on the Sea Beggars at home at 1 PM.
