GAINESVILLE, Ga.— In its second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) road match in as many days, the Montreat volleyball team faced the Brenau University Golden Tigers in Gainesville, Ga. Saturday morning. After falling down 2-0, the Cavaliers were able to fight back in the third; however, the home side notched a four-set win to drop the Cavs' record to 7-13 (6-7 AAC) on the season.
Brenau (9-13, 7-7 AAC) began the contest with a quick spurt to jump out to a 19-13 advantage over the Cavaliers. Despite the deficit, Montreat battled to knot the game at 19 with a 6-0 run fueled by two kills and a service ace. Although the Cavaliers amassed their most kills in a set (12) on the day, a 6-2 stretch by the Golden Tigers allowed BU to lead 1-0 thanks to a 25-21 triumph.
Early miscues from the Cavs helped Brenau out to a healthy edge in the second frame as the home squad powered to a double-digit advantage (13-3). The lead eventually reached as many as 13 (21-8) and BU cruised to a 25-14 win. Eight attack errors, a match high for the Cavaliers, in the set contributed to the sizeable victory though the defense tried to hold the home squad at bay with a match-best 19 digs.
Montreat responded in a tight third frame, forcing a fourth with efficient offense and a strong block at the net. In the set, which was tied 12 times, the Cavs notched their third consecutive double-digit kill total with 10. The Cavaliers only committed five mistakes in the attack, while recording 5.0 blocks in the third to utilize a 6-2 late stretch to take the set 25-21.
Katie Dickey collected five kills,
Kamryn Wolf added four and
Shalice Lynch stuffed 2.5 opposing attacks in the third set alone to pull the Cavs within a set of the Golden Tigers.
Although the Cavaliers fought to win a set, Brenau dominated in the fourth as the visitors registered errors on the attack. Montreat provided the Golden Tigers with five free points due to attack miscues to propel the home team to a 9-2 edge. BU stretched the lead to 14 (23-9) en route to a 25-15 fourth-set win and 3-1 match victory.
"This was a hard weekend—we didn't get settled in and play our game," said Coach
Brittany Carpenter. "There was a lot of miscommunication and unforced errors that factored into the outcome, but we are looking to learn from these games and move forward into a new week."
Overall, the Cavaliers tallied 36 kills, hit .090 and totaled a pair of service aces. Defensively, Montreat amassed 53 digs and combined for 10 total blocks from seven different players. A major factor in the match's outcome was the service line, where Brenau gained nine points on the Cavs. The home squad recorded seven aces to their eight errors, but Montreat served just two aces to 12 service errors.
Dickey led the visitors in both kills (11) and digs (15) with her double-double.
Reese Davis (15 assists) and
Alivia McNally (13 assists) split the setting duties, while
McKinley Edmondson finished in double digits in digs (13). Lynch captained all players with 3.0 total blocks and
Destini Phifer contributed with 2.5 rejections.
Volleyball returns to play at Columbia College on Monday. First serve in Columbia, S.C. is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
