WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.— The Montreat volleyball team continued its road trip with a non-conference matchup against the Carolina University Bruins Tuesday night. After falling down 2-0, the Cavaliers were able to get a set win in the third, but the Bruins notched a 3-1 triumph, dropping the Cavs to an 8-14 record on the season.
 
Three aces and six kills powered the home team out to an 11-4 advantage early in the opening frame. Montreat steadily closed the gap, capturing nine of the ensuing 12 points, fueled by all four of Katie Dickey's first-set kills to pull within one (14-13). The Cavaliers tightened their deficit to a single point five times in the latter portion of the set; however, the Bruins responded to win the next serve each time and eventually took the initial set by a score of 25-21 to go up 1-0 in the match. Though the Cavs hit .360 with 13 kills in the frame, Carolina (16-7) utilized an outstanding .542 hitting percentage with 15 kills and four aces to win the set.
 
A pair of kills from Kamryn Wolf, a service ace from Mackailyn Cherry and a couple of miscues by CU helped Montreat out to a 7-2 edge in the second set. The visitors held their lead until midway through the frame, when CU made a charge to even the score at 13. With the set tied at 18, the Cavalier offense sputtered, committing a series of mistakes that resulted in a 7-1 Carolina run to end the frame and give the Bruins a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Cavs jumped up by four points (9-5) to begin a crucial third set as the Bruins handed the visitors points thanks to errors. Despite a run that closed the Montreat advantage to just one (12-11), the Cavalier offense started to click, going on a 9-3 stretch including three more kills from Dickey and a pair from Wolf. By limiting attacking errors in the frame to two and capitalizing on six CU service errors, the Cavs cruised to a 25-16 set triumph to come within one game in the contest.
 
In response, the home side notched the first four points of the fourth set; however, the Cavaliers answered with six consecutive points of their own to lead 6-4. Five straight from CU followed by traded runs saw the score knotted at 11 midway into the set. A quick 4-1 stretch put Carolina up 20-16 and, though the Cavs fought back to within two, the Bruins ended the match 3-1 in their favor with a 25-20 victory.
 
Overall, Carolina's attack overpowered the Montreat attack, while outweighing its own miscues. CU earned 53 kills on .250 hitting to the Cavaliers' 38 kills on a .153 hitting percentage, while the Bruins also edged the Cavs in service aces (7-5) and digs (60-54). The visitors committed less service errors (15-7) and took advantage of five Bruins block errors, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide in the competition.
 
Dickey captained the team with 15 kills and Wolf finished with 11. Reese Davis led the Cavaliers with 19 assists, while Alivia McNally added 12 helpers. Three Cavs ended the night in double digits in digs as McKinley Edmondson (12), Cambria Bowen (11) and Dickey (10) each notched at least 10.
 
Volleyball returns to Appalachian Athletic Conference play with a match at Milligan on Thursday. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m.