Scots claim USA South Western Division title with a perfect 14-0 record


Maryville College claimed the USA South Western Division Regular Season title on Saturday, as the Scots swept Huntingdon College, 3-0, in the regular season finale.

The Scots claimed a perfect 14-0 record in conference play with a pair of league wins on Saturday. The Championship marks the first of its kind for MC since 2014, as it also is the first time in five years that the Scots went undefeated in conference play.

Maryville swept Huntingdon by the scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 on the Hawks' home court. Huntingdon was the only squad to take MC to five sets during the 2019 conference schedule.

The Scots held the Hawks to a .094 hitting effort defensively, as they fought off seven blocks by Huntingdon for the win.

Maryville was led by a near triple-double by Meredith Bonee, as the sophomore had 15 kills, 16 assists, nine digs and a block assist. Saidee McDaniel also added a double-double with 17 assists, 11 digs and a pair of service aces.

Maryville tallied 13 kills in the opening set, as the Scots held Huntingdon to a .029 effort. The Scots forced six errors, as the Hawks only proved seven kills in the highly-contested 25-23 opening set.

The squad went back-and-forth for a 15-15 score, before back-to-back kills by Brianne Sidner and Maggie Mathews gave the Scots a lead. A Huntingdon service error and a Sidner kill gave MC a 21-18 lead, before three Hawk errors gave the Scots set point at 24-21.

Huntingdon fought off a pair of set points, before Mathews throw down a kill from Bonee for a 25-23 first set victory.

In the second set, Maryville improved to a .163 hitting effort with a match high 16 kills. Huntingdon hit .205 in the set with only three errors, but a five-point rally at the end of the set gave the Scots the 2-0 lead.

Following a 19-19 tie, Huntingdon found a kill from Addison Genard and a Maryville error for a 21-19 lead. Bonee had a kill to make it 21-20, but an MC error gave the Hawks a two-point lead, 22-20.

Maryville scored the final five points of the set, as Sidner started it with a kill from Bonee. Wandell had two kills to end the set with a 25-22 MC win.

In the third and final set of the day, the Scots again improved their hitting percentage. Maryville hit .212 with 12 kills, while holding Huntingdon to a .026 effort.

Maryville jumped to a 4-1 lead with kills from Dejane Hester-Taylor and Bonee. Huntingdon fought back to tie it at four-all, as the teams traded points to an 18-17 score in favor of the Scots.

MC scored six straight points to force set point, 24-17. Hester-Taylor and Sidner had a kill each, as four errors proved costly for the Hawks. Huntingdon fought off a pair of match points, before the Scots claimed the undefeated title with a 25-19 victory.

Maryville (24-6, 14-0 USA South) was led by Bonee's near triple-double and McDaniel's double-double. Sidner had nine kills and eight digs, while Mathews added seven kills and a team-high 13 digs. She had an assist, an ace and a block, while Hester-Taylor added five kills and a pair of blocks with a .333 effort.

Natalie Watts had 10 digs and five assists, while MacKenzie Marcrum added five digs.

Huntingdon (22-14, 11-3) was paced by Amy Tyma's double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs, as she added two aces, an assist and a block. Morgan Ilsley had 25 assists, while Lexie DeVuyst had a team-high 13 digs.

Maryville will look next to the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament, as they host the opening rounds inside Boydson Baird Gymnasium. LaGrange College and Berea College will play on Tuesday Nov. 5 at 5:00 p.m., as the Scots will take on the winner at 7:30 p.m.