The volleyball team closed out a three-match home stand with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) match on Saturday. The team hosted the Bluefield University Lady Rams at James L. Robb Gymnasium.
The offense for the Lady Bulldogs got off to a rough start as Bluefield scored the first five points of the set. Madison Coffey broke the scoreless streak with a kill but the opponents kept adding points to their lead, moving ahead 9-1. The team was not able to find a rhythm on offense, falling in the first set 25-13.
TWU tied the overall match score in the second set. Amya Sutton's kill helped the team move ahead 3-2, and the team's lead eventually grew to 9-6 after a Megan Lee kill. The scoreboard read 14-8 in favor of the Lady Bulldogs after the combo of a Sutton kill, Megan Thompson service ace, and a Shante Smith kill. After seeing their lead cut down to two points, Tennessee Wesleyan scored four straight points, including a Sydney Allen service ace, to move ahead 21-16. Kamari Jackson had three straight kills for the team, moving the lead to 24-19. Bluefield scored four straight points to pull within one, but the Lady Bulldogs scored the final point to clinch the second set 25-23.
The momentum for TWU did not carry to the third set. Bluefield scored seven of the first nine points in the set to move ahead 7-2. The home squad battled back to within three points of the opponents' lead before a streak of points helped the Lady Rams take an 18-8 advantage. Bluefield went on to take the third set by a score of 25-10.
The third set saw a 4-4 tie through the first eight points. The tie was broken by the opponents though with a 4-0 run to give them an 8-4 advantage. Unlike the previous set, the score remained close over the next few point with a Smith kill making the score 14-10 in the opponents' favor. The set started to turn as Bluefield move ahead 22-14. The Lady Bulldogs did not give in. An 8-1 run that included points from Lee, Jackson, Allen, Coffey, and Smith brought the team to within one point of the lead with the scoreboard reading 23-22. Bluefield scored the next two points to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Smith finished the match with a career-high 10 kills while Thompson had a career-high 26 digs.
Up next for Tennessee Wesleyan (1-16, 0-7 AAC) is a road trip to Montreat College. The conference match between the two teams is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
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