CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College swept Union University with a decisive 3-0 victory on Thursday at A.E. Wood Coliseum, securing a Gulf South Conference Tournament berth for the sixth consecutive time.
Meg Paparella led the team with 8 kills, hitting .304, and contributed three service aces.
Cydney Mitchell recorded seven kills with a .462 hitting percentage and added 3 blocks.
Reese Regner facilitated the offensive effort with 17 assists and chipped in with six digs.
Samarin Kipple anchored the defense, collecting 23 digs to stifle the opponent's attack. Kipple became the fifth player to record 1,000 digs in program history.
MC began the first set with a strong performance, highlighted by Paparella's opening kill assisted by Regner. The teams traded early points, but the Blue and Gold regained momentum with kills from
Rhaia Davey and
Mary Grace Foster, both facilitated by Regner, to take a slight lead.
The Choctaws capitalized on UU's errors, widening their advantage with a series of kills from Paparella and Foster. Despite Union narrowing the gap, MC maintained their edge with consistent scoring, eventually closing the set with a decisive kill from Foster, winning 25-20.
The Choctaws gained momentum in the second set with a series of impactful plays.
Emma Levingston delivered key kills, benefiting from assists by Regner and Foster, which helped MC edge past Union early on. Despite service errors that briefly allowed Union to tie the score, MC surged ahead with a decisive sequence that included a service ace by Regner. MC capitalized on Union's errors, including multiple attack errors, to secure the set with a 25-19 victory.
MC surged ahead in the third set, starting with a decisive 4-0 run that featured a kill by Paparella and a service ace. Union managed to tie the score at 4-4, but MC regained control with a series of successful attacks, including a key block by Davey and Levingston.
MC then extended their lead to 17-10, highlighted by a kill from Mitchell and consecutive errors by Union. Despite a late push from Union, MC maintained their advantage, closing the set with a kill by Davey to secure a 25-18 victory. This concluded the match with MC emerging triumphant.
The Choctaws face Christian Brothers on Friday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m.
