SEWANEE, TENN.- Wrapping up their season opening tournament at The University of the South with a pair of matches, Huntingdon Volleyball(2-2 overall) opened the day with a 3-1 victory over the Brevard College Tornadoes before falling to the Sewanee Tigers by a score of 3-0.
Match 1 v. Brevard
Building off of their momentum generated in yesterday's win against Berea, the Hawks got the day started with a 25-22 opening set victory. Each team saw over 30 attempts at the net, but Huntingdon's efficiency proved to be the difference, recording one more kill and two less errors than the Tornadoes to move in front. Brevard held a 20-16 lead coming down the stretch in the set, but a plethora of kills from Lily VanDyke, Morgan Suggs, Alysa Bias, and Aly Harris charged a 8-0 run that put Huntingdon in front 24-20, with Suggs picking up another kill to close the set.
The tables were turned in the second set, with Brevard picking up 13 kills to go with just 6 errors in order to claim the second set 25-22. The Hawks saw their lowest hitting percentage for the match in this set, recording 9 kills and 7 errors as the match drew to an even 1-1 split.
Not to be outdone however, Huntingdon dominated the third set at the net to claim a 25-13 victory. Boosted by 11 Tornado errors, the Hawks expanded their slight 13-10 to a 12 point discrepancy in the latter half of the set, with a kill from Lindsey Holland bringing the score to 21-13 before four consecutive Brevard errors closed the set.
Icing the game away in four proved to be a tall task for the Hawks, as Brevard held a 22-16 lead before growing the advantage 24-20, but Huntingdon caught fire late, seeing 6 of their 13 kills coming from Olivia Goodrich, Harris, and Cheyenne Ashworth in the final stages to even things at 24. The two teams traded points on the following serves before back-to-back kills from Aly Harris cemented the 3-1 Huntingdon victory.
Hawk Top Performers
Match 2 v. Sewanee
The hosts of this weekend's tournament, Sewanee set the tone for the match with a 25-20 first set victory. The Tigers jumped out to an early 12-5 lead and never looked back, maintaining their advantage throughout the duration of their set. The Hawks managed to bring the score within three at 18-15, but their 8 errors proved to be too much to overcome.
The second set saw much of the same, this time with Sewanee taking a much more narrow victory, 25-23. Led by the duo of Aly Harris and Morgan Suggs, the Hawks grabbed a 5-1 lead in the early stages of the set. Their lead grew to as much as 16-9 before the Tigers opened up a 7-0 run to even things up. The two teams traded blows coming down the stretch, with Huntingdon holding a slight 23-22 lead before Sewanee cashed in on three consecutive serves to take the set.
Contrary to the start of the second set, the third was a highly contested battle from the onset, with each squad trading blows as they tried to distance themselves. The break ultimately came midway through the set, as Sewanee gathered a 17-14 lead. This proved to be short-lived however, as Alysa Bias and A'Kirra McElveen spearheaded the Hawks comeback efforts, evening the score at 23 following an Aly Harris kill off Destin Roberts' assist. Deadlocked at 24, the Tigers managed to pull away yet again, stringing two consecutive kills to claim the match 3-0.
The Hawks return to action on Friday, September 5th at home against LaGrange and Piedmont in non-conference matches located in Wilson Gym on Huntingdon's campus. Games are set for 12:00 and 2:00 PM CT.