KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— In the team's first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) competition of the season, the Montreat volleyball team went on the road to compete against the Johnson University-Tennessee Royals Saturday morning. Despite a tough battle from the Cavs, the Royals claimed a win in three sets, dropping Montreat to 1-7 overall on the year and 0-1 in AAC play.
 
A pair of service aces off the hand of Katie Dickey and two early kills from Kamryn Wolf gave the Cavaliers early momentum in the first set; however, the Royals quickly turned the tide to lead 1-0 in the match. In a frame that saw eight ties and the two sides were not separated by more than three points until late, an 8-2 run gave Johnson the separation it needed to secure a 25-18 win thanks to an impressive attack. JU notched 14 kills and a .308 hitting percentage to Montreat's mere six kills and .040 attack percentage.
 
The Cavs benefited from miscues on Johnson's side of the net at the beginning of set number two. Three attack errors, two service mistakes and a bad set saw the Cavaliers jump out to an 8-6 advantage. Following a stretch by the home team to go up 21-15, Montreat answered thanks to three of Dickey's seven second-set kills to knot the frame at 22 with a 7-1 run. Though the Cavaliers improved their attack with 13 kills and only one attacking miscue, the Royals ended the set with two of their 20 kills to come within one set of a sweep after a 27-25 victory.
 
Six early kills from the home team enabled Johnson to lead 8-3 in the third. Montreat then eliminated much of its deficit, which was as many as six points, with a 6-1 run following kills by three different Cavs. Runs by both teams kept the game close as the Royals held an 18-17 edge toward the end of the frame; however, Johnson finished the contest off with a 25-19 triumph after late Cavalier errors helped a 7-2 stretch for the home team.

"This is not the start to conference play that we had envisioned," mentioned coach Brittany Carpenter. "We will be working hard on areas that need improvement while looking ahead to Tuesday's game."
 
Overall, the Royals' attack dominated the match, tallying 47 kills and a .299 hitting percentage to the Cavs' 28 kills and .146 attacking percentage. Johnson led in the categories of digs (55-39) and blocks (5-4), while Montreat recorded more aces (4-2) and less service errors (13-8) on the day.
 
Dickey captained the Cavalier offense with 11 kills, had a team-best three aces and led Montreat with eight digs. Shalice Lynch tied her season-high with six kills and a .556 hitting percentage. Reese Davis collected seven digs to go with her Cavs-high 22 assists. Defensively, Cambria Bowen added seven digs, and Destini Phifer led the team with three blocks.
 
Volleyball returns home for its next contest, a matchup with rival Milligan University, on Tuesday. First serve against the Buffaloes is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in McAlister Gymnasium.