MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat volleyball team celebrated its four seniors Saturday morning inside McAlister Gymnasium as the Cavaliers closed out their 2022 home and regular-season slate with a 4-set triumph over the Kentucky Christian University Knights. With the victory, the Cavs ended the year at 9-20 (8-13 AAC).
 
Kentucky Christian (10-24, 6-15 AAC) was the sharper of the two sides in the initial set, utilizing seven early kills and six Cavalier miscues to vault in front, 13-6; however, Montreat came up with enough answers when it mattered most to take the opening frame. Facing a trio of set points, the Cavs erased their 24-21 deficit by rattling off five consecutive points, claiming the set over the Knights, 26-24. Montreat totaled 17 kills in the frame, with Katie Dickey, Haley Horton and Kamryn Wolf each tallying four kills each.
 
Destini Phifer, who registered five kills in the second set, helped power Montreat out to a 9-3 lead before the Knights could blink. Kentucky Christian closed the gap to two points at 18-16, but two of the Cavaliers' four aces in the frame quelled the KCU comeback as the Cavaliers hit .308 en route to a 25-19 set win.
 
Like the opening set, the Knights started off the third frame on the front foot, leading 6-2 behind two kills and four Montreat attacking errors. The Cavaliers pieced together a 6-1 run midway through the set to knot the score at 16-16, but a late KCU surge handed the Knights the frame, 25-22, and kept the visitors alive heading into the fourth.
 
The match appeared destined for a decisive fifth set after Kentucky Christian flipped a 10-6 hole into a 15-11 edge thanks to a 9-1 run; however, four consecutive kills from Shalice Lynch, Phifer and Wolf quickly erased the KCU advantage. With momentum shifting toward the hosts, the Cavaliers put away any doubt as to which team would win the match. An 8-1 run powered by five Cav kills and three KCU attack errors finished off the Knights in the frame, 25-19, and in the match, 3-1.
 
Montreat hit over .200 as a team (.214) for the seventh time this year, racking up 57 kills compared to KCU's 48. Kentucky Christian notched more digs than its counterpart (52-47), but the Cavaliers' 5-point edge at the service line made up for any slight dig deficiencies.
 
Dickey led all attackers with 14 kills, while Wolf (13) and Phifer (12) were also responsible for double-digit kills. Dickey also paced the Cavs with 11 digs, and Edmondson contributed 10. Lynch's defense proved stout with five blocks, while Phifer and Rouse each added four. Alivia McNally recorded four of Montreat's nine service aces, and Reese Davis dished out 23 assists.
 
The Montreat volleyball ended the regular season tied for 10^th in the AAC standings with Johnson University-Tennessee. Unfortunately for Cavalier fans, Montreat came up on the short end of the tiebreaker, meaning their season ended following the match's conclusion. Montreat now enters the offseason looking to build on consecutive 8-13 regular-season AAC campaigns.