MONTREAT, N.C.— With six of its final seven regular-season matches taking place inside McAlister Gymnasium, the Montreat volleyball team opened its homestretch Tuesday night with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest against the Brenau University Golden Tigers. Despite dropping the initial set, the Cavaliers stormed back to take the following three frames, snagging a 3-1 victory and improving to 9-9 (6-9 AAC) in the process.
 
Kamryn Wolf collected a kill on the match's opening point, but a pair of runs helped the visitors seize the first set. Brenau (8-15, 6-9 AAC) rattled off five consecutive points to move ahead by four at 5-1, but a pair of Shalice Lynch and Wolf kills coupled with a Katie Dickey ace quickly trimmed the gap to one (8-7); however, another 5-0 spurt midway through the frame pushed the Golden Tigers in front for good. Montreat totaled nine attacking errors in the first, and a sizable .345 to .026 hitting edge aided the visitors along to a 25-16 win.
 
The Cavs scored the initial four points of the second set, and their first six points came directly via kills as Wolf, Dickey, Karly Horn and Destini Phifer powered the hosts out to a 6-4 lead. Alex Marsh sparked a 4-0 run at the midpoint of the frame behind two kills of her own and a block assist. Eventually growing its lead to as large as seven points (16-9), the Cavaliers capitalized on their best attacking set of the night. Fifteen kills and a .379 hitting percentage ultimately resulted in a 25-19 victory as the hosts leveled the sets at one apiece.
 
Another 5-0 run early in the third saw Brenau take a quick 9-5 lead, but two aces from Reese Davis combined with two Dickey kills started a 6-0 run that resulted in an 18-15 Montreat scoreboard edge. While the Golden Tigers managed to even the score at 19, late kills from Wolf and Dickey plus a service error vaulted the Cavs to a narrow 25-23 third-set triumph.
 
In the fourth, Horn and Phifer teamed up for a block assist that helped kick off a 5-0 Cavalier span and a 5-1 lead. With the visitors' backs against the wall, an 8-0 surge immediately out of a timeout seemingly gave Brenau new life up 16-13; however, nine Montreat kills down the stretch halted the Golden Tigers and ended their night. Wolf, who tied her season-high with 21 kills in the match, utilized a 7-kill frame to finish off the set, 25-22, and claim the contest for the Cavs, 3-1.
 
"I think we understood how important this match was and that we needed to come out with a win," said head coach Brittany Carpenter. "We did a great job of making adjustments, we responded and we just stayed competitive the whole time."
 
Brenau managed to outhit Montreat on the night (.196 to .156), but a 7-point edge behind the service line coupled with four more kills (52-48) put the hosts on top. Along with her 21 kills and .366 hitting percentage, Wolf tallied her eighth double-double of the season thanks to an 11-dig effort. Dickey led all athletes with 17 digs, and she accumulated the second most kills with 15. Katie Alexander registered a career-high and match-high 26 assists, as well as 10 digs of her own as three Cavaliers ended with double-doubles. Reese Davis (19 assists) and Lexi Wible (15 digs) also added double-digit stat totals.
 
"Our success really just came down to communication," Wolf noted. "I was listening to my defenders, listening to my setter, and we just tried to mix up the ball a little bit. The other hitters did a really good job of pulling the blockers and leaving a hole, and that led to our success."
 
The Montreat volleyball team hosts Columbia International University, a squad receiving votes in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, this Saturday for its next competition. First serve is set for 11 a.m. in Montreat, N.C.