MONTREAT, N.C. — The Montreat College volleyball team dropped a three-set match to the reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) champions, the Columbia International University Rams, on Tuesday evening inside McAlister Gymnasium. CIU cruised in the opening frame, 25-15, before gutting out a pair of 25-21 and 25-20 sets. With the result, the Cavaliers moved to 5-14 (3-10 AAC) on the year, while the Rams climbed to 13-12 (9-4 AAC).
Montreat remained close through the initial exchanges, with
Josie Leatherman and
Elizabeth Harrington registering kills to knot the first frame at 3-3, 4-4 and 6-6. A few strong stretches powered the visitors to a 15-9 advantage, but additional kills from Harrington and Leatherman, which were assisted by
Taylor Shaw, and a service ace from
Allie Anderson slashed the gap to 17-14. Despite the effort, Columbia International leaned on its .500 hitting percentage to swipe eight of the ensuing nine points and the opening set, 25-15.
Harrington notched two kills and teamed up with
Ruthann Stout for a block early in the second frame, but the Rams still managed to ride their momentum out to a 10-5 lead. Back-to-back attacks from
Maggie Furches sparked a Cavs' surge, and
Rafaela Scherer fired off a kill and tallied a block assist with
Bonnie Trautman to eliminate the deficit and level the set at 12-12. Trautman's ace pushed Montreat in front, 15-14, and a Harrington-Leatherman block kept the home team ahead, 17-16. However, like the previous frame, CIU ended strongly. A 9-4 spurt handed the away side a 25-21 set triumph.
Columbia International scored the initial four points and 14 of the first 20 points in the third frame. Harrington and
Madysan Mauney's block pulled the Cavaliers within four at 10-6, but the Rams rattled off the next four to establish a 14-6 edge on the scoreboard.
Judah Reece assisted a
Katie Alexander kill before recording kills of her own off passes from Alexander and Anderson. A 5-0 run that featured a pair of kills from both Harrington and Leatherman inspired the home team and trimmed the deficit to 20-16. Moments later, three straight Harrington attacks brought the score to 23-20. Unfortunately for the Cavs, CIU managed to dig deep and fend off their opposition. The Rams seized the frame and sealed their three-set sweep with a 25-20 final.
Both squads accumulated 47 digs, but Columbia International wrapped up the contest with more kills (42-38), assists (41-37), blocks (9-5) and service aces (5-4). CIU also outhit the Cavs, .295 to .168.
Leatherman paced all players with 13 kills while hitting .286 and adding one block assist. Harrington registered 11 kills and three block assists to finish with 12.5 points. Alexander posted a team-high 17 assists and added 10 digs to achieve a double-double. Anderson also collected 10 digs. Shaw notched 14 helpers, and Trautman racked up two service aces.
Up next, the Montreat College volleyball team travels to Bluefield, Va., to face the Bluefield University Rams on Friday, Oct. 16. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
