MONTREAT, N.C. — The Montreat College volleyball team fell to Carolina University in straight sets on Tuesday evening in its home finale, dropping the match 25-14, 25-14, 25-18. With the result, the Cavaliers moved to 6-18 overall, while the Bruins improved to 15-16.
Elizabeth Harrington opened the first set with a kill off an assist from Taylor Shaw, and Montreat took a 4-3 lead on a block by Bonnie Trautman and Maggie Furches. Carolina responded to build an 11-6 advantage before the Cavs strung together three consecutive points, highlighted by two kills from Josie Leatherman and a block by Harrington and Rafaela Scherer. After the hosts pulled within two, the Bruins scored six straight points to extend their lead to 17-9. The Cavaliers added late kills from Harrington and Furches, along with another block by Trautman and Furches, but CU closed out the frame with a 25-14 scoreline.
Montreat started the second set with three consecutive points, highlighted by a block from Harrington and Leatherman and a Leatherman kill off an assist from Allie Anderson. Carolina evened the score at 3-3, but a kill by Madysan Mauney off a pass from Katie Alexander put the Cavaliers back in front, 6-5. However, the Bruins regained control and built a 17-8 cushion. The Cavs halted the run with a block by Harrington and Furches before stringing together three points, including a Furches kill and a tandem block from Harrington and Judah Reece. Harrington and Reece added late points, but the visitors secured another 25-14 set victory.
The Cavaliers responded to an early 4-2 deficit in the third frame with a run behind Harrington's serve. Two Leatherman kills off assists from Shaw and a Harrington ace helped Montreat seize a 7-4 lead. The teams traded points through the middle of the frame, with offense from Trautman, Reece, Savannah Lemmond and Harrington helping the hosts maintain a 14-11 edge. Carolina then scored eight consecutive points to turn its deficit into a 19-14 advantage. Leatherman ended the run with a kill off an assist from Carly Setterlind before adding another late attack. Despite those efforts, the Bruins maintained their lead to win the set, 25-18, and complete the 3-0 sweep.
The visitors held the statistical advantage in kills (37-23), assists (32-21), hitting percentage (.231 to .034), service aces (11-2), blocks (11-6) and digs (38-34).
Leatherman led all players with nine kills while adding a block. Harrington finished with five kills, one service ace and a team-high four total blocks. Anderson paced the Cavaliers with 11 digs, and she converted her only attack attempt into a kill. Shaw recorded a team-high 11 assists and contributed two digs.
The Cavs return to Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play on Friday, Oct. 30, when they travel to Waleska, Ga., to face Reinhardt University. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
