GRAYSON, Ky.— After a full week at home, the Montreat volleyball team hit the road for Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action on Tuesday night, falling to the Kentucky Christian University Knights in four sets. The defeat dropped the Cavaliers to 9-12 overall and 5-10 in AAC play.
 
Montreat dominated the first set of play from the opening service. The Cavaliers never trailed in the set, and the set's lone tie came at 2-2. Montreat's defense led the way in the opening frame, forcing 10 attacking errors and holding Kentucky Christian (5-17, 3-12 AAC) to a -0.050 hitting percentage. On the flip side, the Cavaliers racked up 11 total kills from five different players. The first set reached its largest disparity as it concluded in Montreat's favor, 25-15.
 
Set two proved to be much different from the first. Kentucky Christian's attack found the groove it lacked in the opening frame, registering 12 kills with a 0.375 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the Knights' defense held Montreat to a -0.167 attack in the second set. The Knights snagged the opening five points of the frame and never looked back, leading by roughly four points until a stretch in which they won 10 of 11 to expand their lead to 18-5. KCU ultimately claimed the second set to even the match, 25-9.
 
Both sides battled evenly throughout the majority of the third set. It wasn't until the Cavs took a 12-11 lead that the Knights kicked things into a higher gear. Kentucky Christian won 10 of the following 12 points to create the separation needed to hold on and seize a two-sets-to-one advantage. Montreat closed the gap late in the third set, but the Knights held on 25-20, thanks in large part to their 18-kill effort.
 
Kentucky Christian continued to build on the momentum from the previous two sets, jumping out to an early 10-5 fourth-set lead. The Cavs, needing to win the set to keep the match going, chipped away at that early five-point deficit. A Montreat kill closed the gap to a single point, 15-14, forcing the Knights to call a timeout. The timeout couldn't have come at a better time for KCU, as it stormed out of the short break to win five-straight points and snag a 20-14 lead. The Knights held off one more Montreat push late in the frame to close out the match and win in four sets, 25-19.

"After the first set, KCU wanted to win more than us, and it showed," said head coach Haley Paonessa.
 
Kamryn Wolf led the Cavaliers with 11 kills. Katie James led Montreat with 30 assists, while Cambria Bowen tallied the most digs for the visitors (18). KCU's Kaitlyn Helinsky led all attackers with 14 kills.
 
Montreat volleyball returns home on Thursday for an AAC matchup against Milligan University. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. in McAlister Gym.