MONTREAT, N.C.— What started as a gloomy afternoon inside McAlister Gymnasium turned into a joyous evening as the Montreat volleyball team fell to Keiser University 3-0 before storming back from a 2-1 deficit against the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears to capture a five-set triumph Friday night. With the split, the Cavaliers hold a 4-2 record, already amassing more victories through six matches than all 22 games a season ago.
 
Keiser (9-13), who held a 36-2 record in 2020, claimed a three-set win over the Cavs due to efficient attacking. The Seahawks totaled 46 kills in the match to Montreat's mere 20 and held a 0.432 hitting percentage compared to the Cavs' 0.062. Though the Cavaliers made the first set a close one, 25-20, KU's attack showed its prowess in the second frame, winning by 12 points.
 
Montreat dropped the third set 25-18 and moved to 3-2 on the season as Keiser took the match.
 
Taylor Coe led the charge in game one with five kills and four assisted blocks as a middle blocker.
 
More positive outcomes ensued from the second match than the first one for the Cavaliers as Montreat grabbed the opening frame from the Golden Bears 25-21. The Cavs overcame a 0.310 hitting percentage and 13 kills by WVU Tech by swinging 0.300 in the initial frame with 13 killed attacks of their own. Five kills from Taylor Rouse and three by Kamryn Wolf propelled the home team in the set.
 
In the second and third sets, the Golden Bears rebounded to go up 2-1 thanks to sloppy hitting from the Cavaliers. Montreat recorded 13 attack errors in the two sets and hit more than 100 points less than West Virginia Tech in each frame, falling 25-22 and 25-14, respectively.
 
From that point, the Cavs played inspired volleyball aided by a packed gymnasium. Wolf registered three more of her 11 kills in the fourth, while Haley Horton killed a trio of attack attempts as well to guide Montreat to a 25-17 victory. Horton and Rouse each tied Wolf for the team-high in kills with 11.
 
"I think my teammates were really helpful when I was down in the second and third set," said Wolf. "Everyone, whether it was our coaching staff or the bench, did such a good job helping me out and telling me where the holes [in the WVU Tech defense] were," she ended.
 
Facing a 10-9 deficit in the fifth and deciding set of the match, the Cavaliers closed the evening on a 6-2 run, fueled by two timely kills by Coe, to complete their comeback.
 
"It takes a lot of faith to keep fighting after being down 2-1," started head coach Haley Paonessa. She continued, "These girls wanted to defend their home court and made sure it happened. They are creating the Cavalier standard one game at a time."
 
Volleyball now hosts Johnson University-Tennessee tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. to open AAC play.