KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— Montreat's women's volleyball team made the trip to Knoxville, Tenn. to face an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) squad in Johnson University (24-6, 14-5 AAC) this evening. The Cavs (8-7, 8-7 AAC) put up a great fight but could not secure the win as the Royals took the match in four sets with scores of 25-12, 24-26, 25-18 and 25-14.
 
The first set proved competitive from the beginning. A Karly Horn kill knotted the two teams at four early on. Johnson then snatched the lead thanks to a 13-5 run to make it 17-9. The slump for the Cavs included two kills from Reese Davis and one from Elizabeth Harrington. A Montreat timeout stopped the momentum only temporarily as Horn swiped the only two kills in the rest of the frame while the Royals won set one by a score of 25-12.
 
Frame No. 2 was highlighted by the Cavaliers. The away team jumped out to a 10-2 lead right away. As Johnson clawed its way back, Harrington showed her stuff, unofficially tallying five kills and one block in the second set alone. Horn corralled two more kills before a Montreat timeout while leading 16-14 in the second. The Cavs led by no more than three during the latter half of the set as a Katie Alexander service ace, a Davis block and a Horn kill coupled with the exceptional performance from Harrington pulled the Cavaliers level with the Royals as they took frame two, 26-24.
 
Alexander's opening ace in set three gave the Cavs an early lead that was chased down by the home team. Tied at eight, Montreat fought hard to keep the score level at 16 apiece. The tight stretch was highlighted by kills from Amelia Radford, Horn, Harrington, Davis and Ruthann Stout. The hosts called a timeout to catch their breath and didn't look back. The Royals ran with the rest of the set, scoring nine of the final 11 points to lock in frame three by a score of 25-18.
 
The Cavs led early in the concluding set, 4-2, but Johnson gained a lead that was out of reach for the visitors for the remainder of the match. Montreat was doubled up at 8-4 and 20-10 thanks to multiple runs for the Royals. An Alex James kill cut the momentum, but it was short-lived as two Davis kills and a Horn block could not compete with a 4-0 Johnson run mixed between to seal the match.

On the night for the Cavs, Davis led the way offensively with 13 kills, and she was followed closely behind by Harrington (11) and Horn (9). The Cavaliers had five total blocks each by a different player. Alexander had two aces altogether with Davis finding one herself.
 
The Cavs look forward to another AAC contest tomorrow at Union Commonwealth University in Barbourville, Ky. The 11a.m. match will be the first against the Bulldogs for the Cavaliers this season.