SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Montreat College volleyball team defeated the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers in four frames on Tuesday evening, seizing the road Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup behind set scores of 25-22, 24-26, 25-20 and 25-19. With a season-high 49 kills and a campaign-best eight total blocks, the Cavaliers claimed the contest in Spartanburg, S.C. Following the result, the Cavs' record improved to 4-7 (2-3 AAC), while SMC moved to 2-11 (1-4 AAC).
Kills from
Josie Leatherman and
Rafaela Scherer, coupled with an
Isabella Farmer service ace, enabled the visitors to start the opening frame with a 3-0 advantage. The home side answered, however, rattling off eight of the ensuing 10 points to sprint in front, 8-5.
Elizabeth Harrington helped momentarily erase the deficit and hand Montreat a 12-11 edge, but the Pioneers came right back with seven consecutive points.
Trailing 21-16 late in the initial set, the Cavaliers found their groove. A service error registered the first point of a 6-0 run, while the other five points came courtesy of
Bonnie Trautman aces and Harrington kills.
Brittany Jack and
Taylor Shaw continued the away side's momentum, and the Cavs clinched a 25-22 set by winning nine of the final 10 points in the frame.
Spartanburg Methodist leveled the match when it squeezed out a 26-24 triumph in the second set. Shaw's service ace saw the away side grab an early 6-4 lead, but the Pioneers responded with a trio of three-point spurts to establish a 17-12 advantage. Attempting another comeback, Harrington and
Ruthann Stout combined for a block, while
Katie Alexander set Trautman up for an attack to trim the gap further. Two errors pushed Montreat in front late at 24-23, though SMC flipped the script to ultimately pick up the frame, 26-24.
The final two sets featured the Cavaliers' most efficient attacking of the night. Montreat combined for just eight attacking errors across the last two frames, hitting .250 and .333, respectively. In the third set, a 7-4 deficit lasted briefly before Trautman bookended a 4-0 spurt with a kill and an ace. Harrington did the same with attacks at the beginning and end of a 5-0 stretch, building a 15-10 lead as a result. Despite their best attempts, the hosts couldn't close the gap.
Judah Reece unleashed a powerful attack to kill off the third frame, 25-20.
A 7-2 start saw the visitors control the fourth set from the get-go. Harrington and Leatherman contributed kills and a block during the sequence to spark the Cavs overall.
Allie Anderson added an ace and assisted an Alexander kill midway through the frame to keep the Pioneers at arm's length. Reece, Scherer and Leatherman each added a kill down the final stretch to seal the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
On the night, Montreat finished with the upper hand in kills (49-46), service aces (11-5), blocks (8-5) and digs (53-46). Each squad accumulated 40 assists, while the Cavaliers outhit SMC overall (.168 to .121).
Harrington paced the Cavs with 14 kills and a campaign-best 16.5 points and five total blocks. The Candler, N.C. native also hit an efficient .300 for the evening. Trautman stuffed the stat sheet with seven kills, three total blocks and a career-high six aces, all adding up to a 15.5-point performance. Leatherman recorded 12 kills and a personal-best four total blocks. Anderson (13) and Farmer (12) reached double-digit dig marks, while Shaw (18) and Alexander (15) did the same with assists.
Up next, the Montreat College volleyball team hosts the Bryan College Lions on Friday, Sept. 25, at 6:30 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.
