ATHENS, Tenn.— The Montreat volleyball team claimed its first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win of the season on Tuesday night, a four-set win over the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs. With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 5-7 (1-5 AAC) on the season.
 
Montreat established an advantage over Tennessee Wesleyan (2-15, 0-8) early in the opening set, growing the lead to 15-9 after a Cambria Bowen service ace. The Bulldogs battled back, winning four successive points to cut the deficit to 15-13, but the Cavaliers attack proved to be too efficient for the Bulldogs. Behind Haley Horton's five first-set kills and a 0.417 team hitting percentage, Montreat seized the opening frame, 25-18.
 
The Cavaliers spent most of the second set playing catch-up after Tennessee Wesleyan took an initial 8-4 lead. Attacks from Horton and Kamryn Wolf helped Montreat close the gap and take a 12-11 lead, but the team's overall attacking efficiency couldn't quite match the opening set. Ultimately, a string of errors saw the Bulldogs leap back in front, 16-12. Despite several strong pushes, including runs to tie the set at 19 and 23, the Cavaliers couldn't retake the lead. Gabby Harris and Aly Lemons finished off the second set for TWU with back-to-back kills, leveling the match at a set apiece.
 
If Tennessee Wesleyan held the match's momentum after the second set, it didn't last long. Montreat stormed out of the gates in the third frame, winning the first six points and seven of the first eight. The lead grew from there, ballooning to as large as 11 points (18-7). TWU chipped away at Montreat's sizeable advantage, but the Bulldogs' eight errors coupled with the Cavs' 11 kills proved too much to overcome—Montreat claimed the third set, 25-19.
 
Set four started similarly to set three, with Montreat grabbing an early lead. Behind a few Wolf and Destini Phifer kills, each of the first five points went Montreat's way. The Bulldogs countered with a run of their own, closing the gap to 6-4, but the Cavaliers had enough answers on the attacking end to stave off TWU's fourth-set push. Wolf and Horton helped the Cavs rattle off five consecutive points to seize a 12-5 advantage. Tennessee Wesleyan never got closer than three points the remainder of the set, and the Cavaliers closed the match out, 25-17.
 
"The team chemistry was great today," said head coach Haley Paonessa. "The team did a very good job of running a fast tempo and minimizing their errors. They also did a great job of finding [Marjorie Smith] and shutting her down. We're happy to be back in the win column."
 
Horton and Wolf led the Montreat attack with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Reese Davis totaled 36 kills, and Bowen added 23 digs. Smith led the Bulldogs with 16 kills.
 
The Montreat volleyball team returns to action on Friday against Columbia College (S.C.). First serve is slated for 6:30 pm in McAlister Gym.