Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla.— The Montreat volleyball team split its contests on Friday at Florida College, dropping its match to the hosts 3-0 before rebounding to sweep the Pensacola Christian College Eagles in the latter of the matches to begin the season with a 1-1 record. With the victory over PCC, head coach Haley Paonessa picked up her first career victory.
 
Against the host Falcons, the Cavaliers got off to a slow start, which proved costly. After falling behind by a few points, Montreat failed to catch FC, falling 25-20 in the first set of the year.
 
A less-than-efficient serve reception in the second frame put the Cavs behind 10-5 early. Trailing 20-14, Montreat captured 10 of the next 12 points to go up 24-22. Although Montreat held two set points, four straight points from the home team allowed FC to lead the match 2-0.
 
The Cavaliers showed promise in the third set, claiming five consecutive rallies to lead 6-4 just 10 points into the set. Despite the hot start, the Falcons bounced back to regain an advantage in the back-and-forth frame. Montreat led 18-16, but Florida College utilized five consecutive points to pull ahead and sweep the Cavs.
 
In the second match of the day, the Cavaliers' serve receive set up a strong attack, which helped Montreat to a three-set victory, its first win of the 2021 season. The Cavs pulled ahead and did not look back, taking the first game over the Eagles by a score of 25-16.
 
Though Montreat struggled to distance itself from PCC in the second set, the Cavaliers still performed well under pressure in the tight frame to triumph 25-22 and inch within a set of clinching their first sweep of the season, something the Cavs did not do last season. The Cavs closed out the match with a 25-13 triumph thanks to an impressive run that gave the team the double-digit win.
 
Coach Paonessa mentioned, "The girls fought hard today. After our close match against Florida College, we adjusted and went back to playing at our tempo. By getting our defense to pass a quick-tempo ball, we were able to run our middles as much as we did, which translated to our success."
 
Volleyball will now compete against Florida College tomorrow at noon before playing Brewton-Parker at 2:00 p.m.