Women's Volleyball Falls in Season Opener Matches at Vette City Classic

Bowling Green, Ky.- The volleyball team began the 2022 season on Friday. The team took the court at the Vette City Classic, a two-day event where the team played two matches on the first day of the event. TWU's first match came against the Indiana University Southeast Lady Grenadiers and the second match of the day came against the University of Mobile Lady Rams.

vs. IU Southeast

The first set of the match did not see a great start for the Lady Bulldogs. IU Southeast scored the first five points of the set. A service error and a kill by Olivia Miller helped the team make the score 6-2. Amya Sutton recorded a kill but the opponents stayed in control of the set, moving ahead 13-3. Four straight points from the combination of Sutton, Madison Coffey, a Sutton service ace, and a Kamari Jackson and Coffey block assist brought the team back within six points of the lead with the score 13-7. The team could not carry the momentum though, going on to fall in the first set 25-14.

A kill by Kali Bowie gave Tennessee Wesleyan a 1-0 lead in the second set. The set remained close over the next few points though, with Miller, Olivia Bolin, Coffey, and Sutton scoring to make the scoreboard read 8-7. IU Southeast took control of the set though, scoring five of the next seven points to lead 13-9. The Lady Bulldogs could not recover from the move, dropping the second set 25-19.

Much like the second set, the points remained close through the first couple of points. A kill by Miller made the score 7-6 early in the set. IU Southeast scored five straight points though to turn the lead in their favor. TWU pulled within three points on two different occasions, but the opponents did not let them pull closer, taking the third set by a score of 25-14 to sweep the match.

Sutton led the team on offense with 10 kills in the match while Jayda Perry aided the offense with 13 assists. Shante Smith and Grayson Fleming led the defense with nine digs each.

vs. Mobile

After the first point went to Mobile, kills by Sutton and Bowie moved the lead into the favor of the Lady Bulldogs. Sutton kept the lead in the team's favor with her kill making the score 7-5. The momentum shifted though as Mobile scored ten straight points to move ahead 15-7, going on to take the set 25-12.

The momentum the Lady Rams had in the first set carried over to the second set as the opponents took an early 7-2 lead. Megan Thompson's service ace capped off a three-point rally which brought Tennessee Wesleyan back within two points. The points did not continue to fall for the Lady Bulldogs though, as Mobile continued to push ahead, eventually taking the second set 25-13.

The third set saw the team fall behind 5-1. The team eventually marched back, using points from Miller, Coffey, and Sutton to cut the deficit to one point. The opponents did not let it remain at one point though as they scored four straight points to move the score to 12-7. TWU brought the score back to within four points a couple of times but could not find the score needed to win the set, falling 25-17.

Sutton led the offense with seven kills while Bolin had 10 assists.