Tennessee Wesleyan University – Women’s Volleyball Defeated by KCU

Athens, Tenn.- The volleyball returned to James L. Robb Gymnasium for their second match of a three-match home stand. Traveling to Athens to try to prevent the Lady Bulldogs from picking up a win were the Lady Knights of Kentucky Christian University, an opponent from the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC).

A kill by Shante Smith put the score in a 1-1 tie early in the first set. Another tie occurred before Kentucky Christian moved out ahead 11-5 with a 9-3 run. A kill by Megan Lee brought the team back within four points of the lead with the scoreboard reading 12-8 before the opponents went on a 9-1 run to extend their lead to 21-9 and went on to take the set 25-11.

Back-to-back Megan Thompson service aces put the second set in a 4-4 tie. Kentucky Christian tie and moved ahead 10-5 over the next few points. Unlike the first set, the Lady Bulldogs made a comeback in the set, cutting the deficit to one on a Lee service to make the score 16-15. TWU kept the set close, scoring five straight points to pull within one point a couple more times in the set, the final one being 24-23. Kentucky Christian scored the one point needed to close the set, taking the second set 25-23.

In the third set, the Lady Bulldogs came out like a buzzsaw, taking a 10-3 lead on two Olivia Miller service aces. Kills by Sydney Allen and Amya Sutton kept Tennessee Wesleyan ahead by a comfortable 14-6 margin. A sequence that saw Sutton get two kills and Smith pick up a kill helped the Lady Bulldogs move their lead to 18-9 deeper into the set. The offense went cold for TWU though as the Lady Knights came back to tie the set 22-22. A kill by Miller broke the tie and Olivia Bolin‘s service ace gave the home squad a 25-22 third set win, moving the match to a fourth set.

In the fourth set, Kentucky Christian shifted the momentum to a 9-1 lead in their favor. A 12-5 scoring run helped the Lady Bulldogs cut the opponents’ lead to one point with the scoreboard showing 14-13. Kentucky Christian scored four straight points but Tennessee Wesleyan copied with four straight points of their own to make the score 18-17. The opponents did not let the Lady Bulldogs force a fifth set though, winning the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

Sutton led the team with 14 kills in the match.