WALESKA, Ga.— Setter Katie James hit a career milestone, notching her 2,000^th career assist, as the Montreat volleyball team competed versus the Reinhardt University Eagles and non-conference foe University of Tennessee Southern Firehawks in Georgia on Saturday. Though James reached the outstanding achievement, the Cavs dropped the competition against Reinhardt 3-0 before falling to UTS 3-1. Following the two contests, the Cavaliers now sit at 11-16 (7-12 AAC) for the season.
 
In the match against the Eagles, Reinhardt (18-10, 14-5 AAC) notched a quick 4-0 lead before claiming eight of the first 10 points of the opening set to force a Montreat timeout. After the slow start, the Cavs immediately responded thanks to kills from four different players, including multiple kills from Kamryn Wolf, Taylor Rouse and Shalice Lynch, to knot the frame at 12.
 
A 7-2 stretch by the home team provided the Eagles with enough separation to eventually take a 1-0 advantage in the match with a 25-19 victory. Though Wolf tallied five kills in the first to lead all players, RU notched 16 kills and hit 0.311 to win the frame.
 
A tightly-contested second set saw neither team lead by more than two points until the Cavs captured a 22-19 advantage late. Montreat did a phenomenal job of limiting errors on the attack as the Cavaliers committed just a single miscue offensively in the frame. Their 0.323 hitting percentage and the only three-point edge of the frame was not enough to push the Cavs to even the match as Reinhardt closed the frame on a 6-1 run to go up 2-0.
 
The third set saw James hit her major milestone as the sophomore setter notched her 2,000^th career assist on a kill by Destini Phifer to give Montreat its second point of the game. James ended the contest with 2,006 career helpers, recording 30 total in the Cavs' first match of the day.
 
"I am incredibly proud of Katie and the leadership she has on this team. I am not at all surprised by her accomplishment," said head coach Haley Paonessa of the milestone.
 
Despite the impressive achievement, Reinhardt tallied nine of the initial 11 points of the third frame to create a seven-point advantage early. The home team, who led by as many as 10 in the set, capitalized on Montreat mistakes to build the Cavaliers' deficit to double digits. The Cavs cut into RU's lead, inching within six points multiple times midway through the third; however, the Eagles recovered to take the third set 25-17 and the match in three.
 
Wolf concluded the first game with a team-best nine kills, while Phifer added seven. Cambria Bowen, who collected a match-high 17 digs in the back row, registered her 500^th career dig in the contest.
 
"We competed with [Reinhardt] until the third set when we let our communication be our downfall," Paonessa noted on the first contest of the day.
 
In the afternoon competition, Montreat utilized two kills each from Alessandra Sendler and Haley Horton to establish a three-point edge (8-5). The Cavaliers pounced on UTS attack errors, while limiting their own as the Cavs extended the lead to five (21-16) and eventually closed out the frame to go up 1-0 with a 25-22 triumph. Montreat hit 0.306 with 13 kills in the set, captained by Sendler with five and Wolf, who had four. Sendler ended the match with seven kills.
 
The Cavs utilized momentum from the first set to jump up by five in the second after winning seven of the initial nine points, and each of the opening three, fueled by three kills from Wolf. Tennessee Southern stormed back in the set, turning the tides to gain a 16-11 lead thanks to a 14-4 stretch. Trailing by five, Montreat answered with its second 7-2 run of the set to knot the game at 20. UTS closed the frame by capturing four of the final five points to even the match at one, despite five additional kills from Wolf.
 
With both squads trying to take a 2-1 advantage in the match, errors plagued the Cavaliers, who committed four early in the set, resulting in a 7-1 lead for their opposition. UTS expanded Montreat's deficit to 11 as the Firehawks controlled the attack, which collected kills on each of its nine swings. Due to the relentless attack, which recorded an unprecedented 0.750 hitting percentage, Tennessee Southern won the frame by 17.
 
In the fourth set of the non-conference showdown, the Cavaliers dropped eight of the first 11 rallies to trail by five. The early deficit loomed large as UTS scored six straight to extend its lead to 11 midway through the frame (16-5). Although Montreat made a run to pull within single digits, the Firehawks earned a 25-15 set win and 3-1 match victory.
 
Wolf finished the second match with 11 kills, while McKinley Edmondson (22) and Katie Baker (15) led the Cavaliers' back row in the digs category. Reese Davis tallied a double-double in the latter contest, recording 29 assists and 14 digs.
 
Volleyball returns home for a conference battle against Bryan on Tuesday. First serve inside McAlister Gymnasium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.