Volleyball Wins First AAC Match Against KCU

Written by Baylie Davis

ATHENS, Tenn.- The volleyball team won their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) match of the season at home against Kentucky Christian University on Friday. Earlier this season, the Lady Bulldogs fell to the Lady Knights in five sets on the road. This time around,  Tennessee Wesleyan University showed their growth as a team as they defeated the visitors 3-1 in the second showdown between the two teams.

In the first set, the Lady Bulldogs took an early 2-0 lead with a back-to-back block and kill by Olivia Miller. After exchanging points, TWU was down 9-7, but after a timeout, they took the lead 11-10 with three back-to-back kills by Megan Tracy and a block by Miller. Although KCU fought back, the intensity never stopped. Kills by Miller, Shante Smith, and Megan Lee brought the score to 17-13. As the final stretch of set one was coming to a close, the Lady Bulldogs went on a four-point run that included a service ace by Amya Sutton and a dig by Morae Owens leading to a Lee kill assisted by Megan Thompson. The set one win came by a KCU service error bringing the final score to 25-19.

In the second set, two hitting errors followed by a Smith kill gave TWU a commanding 3-0 lead. As the match progressed, two Smith kills, a block by Miller, and errors by Kentucky Christian lengthened their lead to 14-6. The momentum did not stay with the home team as the score eventually became tied 23-23. The set went through four more times, but the final score of 29-27 favored the Knights.

In a 4-4 tie in the third set, a back-to-back Tracy block and kill and back-to-back Sutton kills gave the Lady Bulldogs an 8-4 lead they never gave up. Moments later, a Lee kill and service ace, a kill by Tracy, and a block by Miller extended their lead 14-8. Set point was close behind after a six-point run with kills by Smith and Sutton, a service ace by Gracelyn Jackson, and a Miller and Smith block assist. The final point of the set came from a Lee and Smith block assist giving Tennessee Wesleyan a 25-13 win.

The early stages of the final set began with rally after rally resulting in a 9-9 tie that was finally broken by a Tracy kill. The Lady Knights could never recover as a Thompson service ace gave them a 15-10 lead. Soon after a service ace by Sutton and a Tracy kill pushed TWU into the 20s. Smith closed out their first conference win with her final kill of the night giving them a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 victory in the match.

Tracy reset her career-high in kills with a team-high 16 kills in the match and Olivia Bolin aided the offense with 27 assists. Lee had career-highs in kills (11) and digs (12) while Thompson held down the defense with a career-high 28 digs.

Tennessee Wesleyan returns to their home court Saturday at 11:00 a.m. for another conference match against Bluefield University.