MONTREAT, N.C. — The Montreat College volleyball team won the first set over the Bryan College Lions on Friday night, 25-21, but BC stormed back to take the following three frames, 25-14, 25-13 and 25-16, as well as the match, 3-1, inside McAlister Gymnasium. While the Cavaliers suffered an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) defeat, they also celebrated setter
Katie Alexander, who reached the 1,000-career assists threshold during the evening. After the match, the Cavs' record adjusted to 4-8 (2-4 AAC), and the Lions' record shifted to 9-7 (3-3 AAC).
Fifteen kills and a .273 hitting percentage powered the hosts to a 25-21 triumph during the initial frame. Montreat built separation early during Alexander's serve, thanks in large part to her ace and kill.
Bonnie Trautman,
Rafaela Scherer and
Judah Reece also contributed blocks at the net to help establish an 11-4 advantage.
Josie Leatherman and
Elizabeth Harrington kills expanded the edge to 15-7, but the visitors came charging back, scoring 10 of the ensuing 13 points before eventually knotting the set at 20-20. Reece's attack regained the lead, though, multiple Trautman blocks extended the advantage and Leatherman's fifth kill of the frame finished off play.
Bryan regrouped during the set break, returning to the court with renewed vigor. The Lions' hitting percentage improved drastically, as seven kills and two service aces put the away side in front, 9-4. Harrington sparked a brief 3-0 spurt in response, teaming up with
Ruthann Stout and Reece to stuff a pair of BC attacks. Bryan proved to be undeterred, however, slowly increasing its lead until its largest point at the frame's conclusion, 25-14.
Alexander answered the Lions early in set three, finishing off an
Allie Anderson pass and setting up the first of back-to-back Harrington kills that kept the Cavaliers within arm's length at 7-5.
Maggie Furches also did her part by adding a kill from
Taylor Shaw, keeping the deficit at 9-6. Unfortunately for the hosts, BC's efficiency only grew as the match progressed. Bryan hit .350 in the third frame, counteracting points from Trautman, Leatherman and Harrington. The final three points went the visitors' way, vaulting them ahead in the contest via a 25-13 set score.
A 4-0 run swiftly eliminated a three-point hole for the home side early in the fourth, as Alexander, Harrington and Leatherman contributed kills and Trautman delivered a service ace. Fighting back, the Lions rattled off two five-point streaks during a 13-point span, flipping the score back in their favor at 15-10. Reece and Leatherman did their best in the battle to overcome the gap, but BC once again inched away from the Cavs. The margin between the two sides grew to as large as 10 points, and Bryan clinched its four-set victory with a 25-16 final frame.
Montreat tallied a season-best nine blocks as a squad, out-dueling the visitors' final mark of six rejections. The Lions owned significant advantages in other statistical categories, though, including kills (50-39), service aces (13-4), digs (52-40), assists (44-36) and hitting percentage (.265 to .131).
Leatherman registered a team-high 12 kills. Harrington added 11 kills and three block assists. Trautman recorded six total blocks, including two solo efforts, and served two aces. Alexander finished with 21 assists, six digs, four kills and one ace. She also reached the 1,000-career assists milestone with her 19
th helper of the match. Reece tacked on eight kills, and Anderson notched a squad-best 13 digs.
The Montreat College volleyball team returns to McAlister Gymnasium tomorrow afternoon for an AAC showdown versus Tennessee Wesleyan University. First serve between the Cavaliers and Bulldogs is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.
