CLEVELAND, Ga.— The Montreat volleyball team began a 3-match road trip Tuesday night when the Cavaliers traveled to Georgia for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle against the Truett McConnell University Bears. Though the Cavs extended the match down 2-0, TMU collected a 3-1 win, dropping Montreat to 8-7 (5-7 AAC) on the year.
Truett McConnell (17-8, 10-3 AAC) claimed four of the first five points to jump out to an early advantage in the opening frame. Kills from three different Cavaliers, including multiple from
Katie Dickey and
Shalice Lynch, brought Montreat within a pair of points on five occasions through the opening 18 points. The Bears established a 5-point edge (15-10); however, four service errors by the home side kept the Cavs within a couple once more (15-13). Despite the miscues behind the service line and five first-frame kills from Dickey, TMU utilized a 16-kill set to lead 1-0 thanks to a 25-20 victory.
A pair of kills by Dickey wasn't enough to propel the Cavaliers at the start of the second set as the Bears captured seven of the initial 10 points en route to a 7-3 lead. The potent Truett McConnell attack showed its prowess as nine kills out of the hosts' first 10 points of the set allowed TMU to expand its advantage quickly to eight (12-4). The Bears led by as many as 11, but kills from
Kamryn Wolf, Lynch and Dickey, who had six in the set, sparked a 7-2 run that pulled Montreat within six (19-13). Although the stretch gave the Cavs momentum, it was short-lived as the home team tallied a 25-14 triumph by recording a .500 hitting percentage to the visitors' .192.
Kills from
Katie Alexander and
Karly Horn immediately handed the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead in the third set, but the squads battled back and forth for an advantage. The beginning of the frame saw six ties through 14 points, and neither side held more than a 2-point edge until the Cavs established a 10-7 score following two kills from
Elizabeth Harrington and a block by Horn and Lynch. TMU answered with a 4-1 run that gave the Bears their first lead since the 3-2 mark (12-11), and after Montreat quickly re-took the lead (13-12), the home side went up 19-15 thanks to a 7-2 run. Needing a response to remain alive in the match, the Cavaliers capitalized on four uncharacteristic attacking errors to flip the script and come withing two points of forcing a fourth set (23-21). Ultimately, the Cavs held on to win by two (25-23) after a heads up play from Alexander to go on the first touch on set point.
Truett McConnell earned each of the opening three points, and five of the first six in the fourth set as the Bears looked to close out the match. Offensive mistakes harmed the Cavaliers, who were doubled up by their opposition through 15 points (10-5). Fueled by a combination of an efficient attack and Montreat errors, TMU continued to grow its advantage over the course of the frame. Going up by as many as 14, the home team used an 11-2 run, including seven consecutive points, to win the fourth set 25-12 and the match 3-1.
In the end, the Bears outhit the Cavs .326 to .136 after recording 57 kills to Montreat's 43. TMU also claimed more assists (53-40), aces (7-2), digs (59-54) and total blocks (6.0-5.0). Dickey captained the attack with 16 kills, while Wolf added nine, Horn contributed six and Harrington hit .444 with five kills. Alexander notched a team-best 21 assists, and
Lexi Wible dug a team-high 19 opposing attacks.
Reese Davis (15 assists) and Wolf (14 digs) also added double-digit stat totals.
Volleyball continues its road stretch with a match at the University of Pikeville on Friday. First serve in Kentucky is slated for 6:30 p.m.
