Volleyball maintains perfect conference record looking for an NCAA bid

The Scots volleyball team routed the Wasps of Emery and Henry College on Senior Night. They honored the team’s seven seniors including Dejane Hester-Taylor, MacKenzie Marcrum, Saidee McDaniel, Brianne Sidner, Allison Botts, Kelley Wandell, and Madison Wilkerson. 

When asked about their favorite memories as a team, the most commonly mentioned fond memory was about this past summer when the team traveled to Europe to play and do some sightseeing.  

Sidner was the latest of the Scots’ team to reach the 1,000 kill mark. The senior outside hitter was a focal point for the offense this season.  She has spent four years on the court for the Scots playing in a total of 113 matches while averaging 2.71 kills per set and adding a total of 105 blocks to her impeccable offensive numbers. 

Senior Brianne Sidner goes up to slam down another kill, adding to her count on Senior Day. Photo by Jay Kirchner

When Sidner was asked about her time on the court for the Scots, she recanted knocking off the then undefeated Huntingdon. 

“We went there and did a scavenger hunt in a mall the day before we played,” Sidner said. “We got extremely competitive and into it, and it was such a blast. The next day we beat Huntingdon in five sets, and we were the only team that year to beat them every time we played them.”

When a player reaches a milestone such as an incredible 1,000 kills, there is almost always a huge celebration. To relate this to a sport people are more familiar with, this is almost like reaching the 2,000 point mark in basketball. The volleyball team did hold a party for Sidner, and she talked about her incredible kill record.

“Reaching any large milestone is something that is always cherished by any player,” Sidner said. “The best part about it was how my team cheered for me and how supportive all of them have been these past four years.” 

“Our team doesn’t just have one star player, which makes us strong across the board and gives [us] a large advantage against other teams,” Sidner said. “Reaching that milestone is a moment I will cherish forever, and how my teammates celebrated with me is one of my favorite memories in my four years here.”

Middle blocker, Hester-Taylor is one of MC’s most efficient attackers with a hitting percentage (kills to attack attempts) of .383 which leads the USA South Athletic Conference. In the 101 matches she’s played, she has accumulated an impressive 575 kills with 205 of them coming in this season. Hester-Taylor has one of the highest blocking numbers on the team from the middle of the net with 159 total—34 of those being solo.

Hester-Taylor has spent four years on the court for the Scots. Her freshman year was much slower compared to her other three seasons. She played double the amount of matches that she played during her freshman year throughout her sophomore year. Hester-Taylor also occupied multiple roles on the court for MC before fulfilling the middle blocker position. 

The Scots continued to play on after senior night against LaGrange College then Huntingdon College on Nov. 2 to finish out conference play. After taking both games in three sets, the team began conference tournament play on Nov. 5.

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