MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat volleyball team grabbed its fifth home win of the season Friday afternoon, overcoming an early first-set defeat to roll through the next three frames and triumph over the Johnson University Royals, 3-1. With the homecoming victory inside McAlister Gymnasium, the Cavaliers improved to 5-11 overall and 4-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Johnson (9-7, 6-5 AAC) looked good early, attacking with ferocity as it utilized a 7-0 run to pull away from the Cavs in the initial set, 12-5. Katie Dickey tried to close the gap as her fifth kill of the frame trimmed the deficit to 20-16, but the Royals regrouped and responded immediately with a kill and three aces out of a timeout. Ultimately, Johnson's .375 hitting percentage was too much as the visitors claimed the set, 25-18.
 
Undeterred, the Cavaliers pieced together several runs in a tightly-contested set that flipped their favor. With neither side leading by more than two until late, Montreat erased a slight 20-18 hole and took the final seven points to level the match with a 25-20 win. Shalice Lynch's fourth kill of the frame started the Cavs' scoring streak, Kamryn Wolf sustained the run with three kills of her own and Dickey sealed the set with a service ace.
 
Wolf tallied another three kills to get the third frame started on the right foot, but a 6-0 Johnson run quelled the Montreat surge; however, behind a strong home crowd, the tide shifted shortly thereafter. The Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run of their own to leap back in front, 14-10, and .326-.061 hitting edge helped that stretch grow to 14-3 in Montreat's favor. Nineteen Cav kills helped claim the frame, 25-17, and gave Montreat the leg up on Johnson heading into the fourth.
 
Playing with all the momentum, the hosts snatched five of the frame's initial six points. Alivia McNally registered Montreat's 11^th service ace of the match, while Abby Maldonado's fifth ace of the night nearly put the Royals away for good. Lynch and Haley Horton provided strong defense at the net in the fourth set as the Cavaliers grew their lead to 10 points late (23-13), and Destini Phifer wrapped the match up with a kill. Behind a 25-16 fourth-frame score, the Cavs recorded their third consecutive home win and their fifth overall this season.
 
"Our defense was absolutely relentless—they were going after everything and kept their feet moving," said coach Brittany Carpenter. "If they got stuck, they just talked about it and moved on to the next point. That's really all you can ask for as a coach. They stepped up, and they're really playing as a team."
 
Montreat dominated Johnson in several attacking categories, including kills (64-30), hitting percentage (.222-.133) and service aces (12-7). Dickey led all attackers with 20 kills, while Wolf (14) and Horton (10) joined her in double figures. McKinley Edmondson (22) and Dickey (16) each had double-digit dig totals, and both McNally and Reese Davis recorded 28 assists. Maldonado, who entered the night with one ace on the season, paced all participants with five.
 
"Knowing what I can and can't do and being confident in my abilities, that's really helped me a lot," Maldonado said when talking about her strong performance behind the service line.
 
The Montreat volleyball team closes out its three-match homestand with another homecoming match on Saturday. First serve between the Cavaliers and the Union College Bulldogs is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. inside McAlister Gym.