MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat volleyball team opened a 3-match homestand inside McAlister Gymnasium Tuesday night when the Cavaliers welcomed the Columbia College Koalas to town. Behind a smooth 3-set sweep over the visitors, the Cavs claimed their third straight win and improved their season record to 6-4 overall, as well as 3-4 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Katie Dickey notched a kill and a pair of service aces to put the hosts ahead 9-5 and create early separation in the initial frame. Cate Hale contributed an ace of her own shortly thereafter as the home side established a 15-10 edge on the scoreboard. The Koalas pieced together a 7-2 run to pull within a single point at 21-20, but Montreat's attack proved too much for the visitors to handle. Seven different Cavaliers tallied kills in the first frame, and Karly Horn, Dickey and Kamryn Wolf rattled off four consecutive kills to close out a 25-20 opening set.
 
Columbia (2-10, 0-8 AAC) capitalized on five Cav miscues to start the second frame with a 5-1 lead; however, Montreat quickly cleaned up the mistakes and never looked back. Shalice Lynch registered a solo block and a kill to spark a 7-0 run, and two more Wolf attacks suddenly built a 16-10 Cavalier advantage. The hosts dominated the Koalas offensively in the second, totaling over twice as many kills (14-6) while significantly outhitting the away side (.346 to -.036) en route to a 25-15 second set triumph.
 
Attempting to extend the match, Columbia jumped out to a 13-9 edge midway through the frame; but, for the second set in a row, the Cavs utilized a 7-0 run to flip momentum back in favor of the home team. Two Wolf aces powered the spurt and put Montreat on top 16-13, and a pair of errors coupled with a Destini Phifer kill ended the set, 25-22, as well as the match, 3-0.
 
"Our defense did a great job of setting us up to work on different aspects of our offense tonight," said head coach Brittany Carpenter. "While we started out sets two and three slowly, we were able to stay disciplined to get ourselves back in those sets and ultimately win in three."
 
Across three sets of action, the Cavaliers recorded more kills (42-25), digs (35-26), service aces (7-3) and blocks (8.0-6.0) than their counterparts. Montreat also owned the more efficient attack with a .221-.113 edge in hitting percentage.
 
Dickey led all attackers with 14 kills, while Wolf finished with 12 kills and an incredibly efficient .550 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Horn matched her career high with six kills. Wolf paced both teams with 13 digs and her fifth double-double of the season. Katie Alexander (25 assists) and Reese Davis (12 assists) handled the setting duties for the home team.
 
Action continues inside McAlister Gymnasium this Friday as the Montreat volleyball team hosts the Kentucky Christian University Knights in AAC play. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.