MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Asbury volleyball (8-6, 3-2 CCS) battled through a pair of early deficits on Friday afternoon, taking the final two sets to secure a 3-2 conference road victory over Huntingdon College (4-8, 2-3 CCS).
The Eagles won by scores of 25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 26-24 and 15-13 inside Catherine Dixon Roland Arena.
Asbury opened the afternoon by pulling out a tight first set, 25-23. The Eagles trailed 17-12 before fighting back, eventually tying the frame at 19-19. With the score even again at 23, AU claimed the final two points to grab a 1-0 match advantage.
Huntingdon answered in the next two frames. The Hawks took the second set, 25-19, before controlling the third, 25-16, to push Asbury to the brink with a 2-1 advantage.
The Eagles responded in a back-and-forth fourth set that featured 15 ties and six lead changes. Huntingdon moved within a point of closing the match at 24-23, but Asbury answered. Sophie Glushchak delivered a kill to even the set at 24 before AU took advantage of a Huntingdon attack error. Sara Beth Gray then finished the 26-24 set victory with an ace to force a deciding fifth.
Neither side was able to separate early in the fifth, with the teams battling through an 11-11 tie. Julia Wright then delivered a kill to put Asbury in front, 12-11. Another Huntingdon attack error made it 13-11 before Wright struck again to give the Eagles match point at 14-11. Huntingdon pulled within one at 14-13, but Wright closed the match with her third kill in Asbury's final four points, securing the 15-13 fifth-set victory.
Isabelle VandeSchraaf led the Asbury attack with 16 kills while adding a team-high 22 digs and an ace. Wright filled the stat sheet with 13 kills, 23 assists, 11 digs and a block. Sophie Glushchak added nine kills, while Megan Schelling finished with eight.
Aliah Jones was efficient in the middle for AU, finishing with seven kills on 20 swings without an attack error for a .350 hitting percentage. She also recorded three solo blocks. Abigail Bruner matched Jones with three solo blocks and added a service ace.
Sara Beth Gray contributed 22 assists, 13 digs and two aces, while Ariana Bluestein collected 19 digs and three assists. Asbury totaled 56 kills, 53 assists, 89 digs, six aces and seven solo blocks in the five-set win.
* Isabelle VandeSchraaf | 16 K, 22 D, 1 SA
* Julia Wright | 13 K, 23 AST, 11 D, 1 BLK
* Sophie Glushchak | 9 K, 4 D
* Megan Schelling | 8 K
* Aliah Jones | 7 K, .350%, 3 BLK
* Sara Beth Gray | 22 AST, 13 D, 2 SA
* Ariana Bluestein | 19 D
* Abigail Bruner | 3 BLK, 1 SA
The ladies travels to CCS opponent LaGrange College on Sat., Oct. 3 at 12 PM.
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