WEST POINT, Ga.— The Montreat women's volleyball team started a three-match weekend trip in Georgia with a four-set victory over Point University on Friday night. The win moved the Cavaliers to 11-14 overall and 7-11 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC).
 
Montreat started the opening set with an efficient attack, using early kills from Taylor Rouse, Destiny Phifer and Kamryn Wolf to take four of the first five points. A Mackailyn Cherry service ace put the Cavaliers up 6-2, but shortly after, Point (12-14, 9-9 AAC) began to find an attacking rhythm of its own. Using a flurry of kills and a few Montreat errors, the Skyhawks flipped a 7-3 deficit and turned it into a 13-9 lead. Montreat did respond, as it went on a five-point run of its own to regain a slim advantage in the opening set, 16-15. Ultimately, the Cavaliers did just enough in both the attack and defense, hitting 0.208 and holding Point to a 0.031 hitting percentage to win the first set over the hosts, 25-22.
 
Like the first set, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early advantage in the second, only to have Point erase that lead midway through the frame. Montreat re-established a three-point lead at 17-14, and then the Skyhawks made their push. Taking 10 of the following 11 points, it was the Skyhawks who captured their first lead of the set late. A 16-kill frame and 0.293 hitting percentage helped Point knot the match at a set apiece, 25-19.
 
Following the form of the sets before it, Montreat held the edge in the third frame just 14 points in, thanks to five kills and three Point attacking errors; however, the Skyhawks put together another strong stretch, winning seven of the next nine points to seize a 13-10 lead. Montreat proved Point wasn't the only team that could make a set-altering run while trailing in the middle of a frame. The Cavaliers immediately rattled off eight consecutive points to leap ahead 18-13. Point made another late push, even tying the set at 23, but behind six Phifer kills, 15 team kills and eight Point attacking errors, the Cavs moved within a set of victory, 25-23.
 
The Cavaliers defense forced Point into a plethora of errors early in the fourth set. Behind a couple of blocks, nine of Montreat's first 11 points involved Skyhawk errors. The other two points were Lexi Wible service aces; Montreat didn't register its first kill of the fourth set until Shalice Lynch finished an attack to put the Cavs up 12-9. Despite the early struggles, Point persevered and found its groove, nearly making it through the remainder of the set without committing an attacking error. Snagging a 24-22 lead, the Cavaliers were moments away from playing in a fifth set until a service error put the ball back in the Cavs' court. That's when the defense stepped up, forcing Point into its first attacking error since 11-9 earlier in the set. Two more Skyhawk attacking errors, including a Cavalier block on the final point of the match, helped seal the victory for Montreat, 26-24.
 
"Today, we did a great job of recognizing our mistakes and not allowing ourselves to make that same mistake again," said head coach Haley Paonessa.
 
Rouse led Montreat with 12 kills on the evening, which puts her over 500 kills in her career (504). Phifer also totaled double-digit kills (10), as well as five blocks at the net. Wible and Cambria Bowen both tallied two service aces, while Katie James led the Cavaliers in assists (35) and digs (18) on the night.
 
Montreat volleyball continues its Georgia trip with two matches on Saturday in Waleska, Ga. The Cavaliers will play at Reinhardt University in an AAC contest at 11:00 a.m. before facing the University of Tennessee Southern in a non-conference battle around 1:00 p.m.