GRAYSON, Ky.— In a road battle against Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) foe the Kentucky Christian University Knights Saturday afternoon, the Montreat volleyball team nearly recovered from a 2-1 deficit, but eventually fell in five sets. With the defeat, the Cavaliers dropped to 8-16 overall and 7-9 in their AAC campaign.
 
Montreat capitalized on errors from Kentucky Christian's offense to start the competition. KCU committed six early miscues, while kills from three different Cavs and a pair of aces resulted in a 13-7 advantage midway into the set. Though the visitors' lead dwindled to a single point (20-19) late in the frame, a service run by Mackailyn Cherry ended the set with a 5-0 stretch as the Cavaliers went up 1-0 thanks to a 25-19 win.
 
After a couple of early kills put the home team out front by three (6-3) in the second, the Cavs trimmed their deficit to just a single point with a 5-3 run. The Knights (9-19, 5-11 AAC) then answered with a run of their own, building a 20-12 advantage, which KCU carried to a 25-20 victory to even the match at one.
 
A quick start to the third saw Montreat jump out to a 5-2 advantage in what turned out to be a close, back-and-forth frame. The teams were tied seven times throughout the course of the set, and timely aces by Alivia McNally and Cherry helped keep the Cavs ahead when Kentucky Christian inched within a point. Despite the slight edge for the Cavaliers, KCU finished the set on a 7-1 run to lead 2-1 after a 25-22 triumph.
 
The Cavs took four of the first five points of the fourth set in an attempt to force a fifth frame. The 3-point advantage marked the largest separation of the set until late as the teams fought back and forth again. With the score tied at 17, Reese Davis went on a service stretch, fueled by three kills from Katie Dickey. Davis served during a 6-0 run that gave the Cavaliers momentum and helped them tie the match at two with a 25-20 win.
 
The decisive set opened the way the previous two seemed to start as both teams traded the first 10 points of the frame. Knotted at five, it was the home team who seized the lead thanks to seven consecutive points to go up 12-5. Though the Cavaliers fought back to within three on multiple occasions, the comeback attempt fell short and KCU took the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
 
Dickey captained the Cavaliers with 23 kills on the day and Kamryn Wolf added 14. Haley Horton notched eight, while Taylor Rouse collected five. KCU tallied seven more kills than the Cavs (64-57) in the matchup. Davis led the team with 23 assists and McNally contributed with 21. Dickey rounded out a tremendous day with a team-best 22 digs, while McKinley Edmondson registered 17.
 
Volleyball ends its 8-game road trip with a match at Bluefield on Tuesday. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.