MONTREAT, N.C.— After leading two sets to none inside McAlister Gymnasium against the Brenau University Golden Tigers on Saturday, the Montreat volleyball team fell in five sets to close out its three-game homestand. With the defeat, the Cavaliers dropped to 9-11 (5-9 AAC) on the season.
 
Montreat began the contest where it left off on Friday evening, winning a close first set by three points. Haley Horton captained the offense in the initial frame with five kills on seven swings with a 0.571 hitting percentage. Thirteen team kills and a quick 5-1 run in the middle of the set gave the Cavaliers the separation they needed to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The Cavs continued to pressure the visitors in the ensuing frame, utilizing five consecutive points to lead 7-4. Montreat held the lead for the remainder of the set thanks to four kills from Kamryn Wolf and three more from Horton.
 
As the Golden Tigers fought hard to extend the match, they claimed 16 of the first 20 points of the third set. Though the home team recorded its most efficient hitting set of the competition and won nine of the next 11 points to eventually pull within three, the early deficit combined with Brenau's best attacking frame (14 kills on a 0.423 hitting percentage) proved too much for the Cavaliers to overcome.
 
Another strong set by BU (13 kills, 0.385 hitting pct.) coupled with seven attack errors from Montreat allowed the visitors to tie the match with a 25-18 victory. In the fifth and deciding frame, Taylor Coe recorded four of the Cavs' five kills to end with 10 and a 0.533 hitting percentage. Despite the junior's presence at the net, Brenau used a 4-0 run to build an advantage. The Cavaliers closed the gap to just one (6-5), but the Golden Tigers closed the match with a 9-2 stretch to complete their comeback.
 
Overall, the visitors notched 15 service aces to Montreat's eight, while out-blocking the Cavs 10-8 in the contest. Wolf closed the match with a team-high 13 kills and Horton ended the day with 11. Katie James tallied a match-best 42 assists and Cambria Bowen dug a match-high 19 opposing attacks.
 
"After the first two sets, Brenau started finding the holes on our side of the court and used that to their advantage", mentioned head coach Haley Paonessa. She continued, "Starting the fourth set, we weren't able to find our confidence, but still continued to fight for points."
 
Volleyball returns to action on Tuesday at Kentucky Christian University. Gametime is slated for 6:30 p.m. in Grayson, Ky.