CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Agnes Scott's volleyball program opened the 2026 season with a win for the first time since 2016, as they snapped a 27-match and 82-set losing streak, downing Johnson & Wales (N.C.) by a score of 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 24-26, 25-18, 18-16) today on the road. The Scotties won their debut for the first time since a September 1, 2016 opening win over Toccoa Falls a decade ago.

The first set saw the Wildcats (1-2) take advantage of the inexperience of the Scottie lineup, with everyone but senior Madison Stidum playing in their first collegiate contest. The Scotties committed 9 attacking errors as JWU marched to a 25-20 victory in the opener. The Scotties (1-0) would rebound with a tight, 27-25 win in the second set, as the Scotties raised their offensive efficiency, logging 12 kills against only 7 errors. The third set was another tight affair, as both teams had their highest percentage of hitting on the day. The Scotties managed 14 kills in the set, hitting .200, but JWU was even more efficient, hitting for .333 with 13 kills, as they edged ahead and took the third set, 26-24. The Scotties would take the fourth set, aided by seven service aces, by a comfortable 25-18 margin, setting up the exciting fifth set.

In the fifth set, it appeared that the Wildcats would pull away in the topsy-turvy encounter, racing to early leads in the 15-point decider. They stretched their lead to a seemingly insurmountable, 14-10, lead, leaving them four consecutive chances to close out the match. The Scotties earned a side out on the first match point, and First-Year libero Kalia Bramblett stepped to the service line with the match on the line. The diminutive defensive specialist responded by serving up the third of her service aces on the day. The Scotties then rallied behind strong defense in the next two points to bring themselves back to a 14-14 tie. The teams would trade errors over the next four points. Bramblett's serve at 14-14 sailed wide, giving the Wildcats another match point, which they lost after a long rally ended on an attack error on JWU. Both teams then missed serves to put the match at 16-16. In a twist of fate, the next server for the Scotties was their lone senior, Stidum, who served up a service ace to give the Scotties their first match point. Her next serve was mishandled in the back row and the JWU setter was unable to play the next ball, giving the Scotties the win.

Stidum led all players with 18 kills, 15 digs and 5 service aces. The senior also contributed 4 assists. Bramblett was the backbone of the defense, contributing 13 digs to go along with her 3 service aces. The story of the day for the Scotties was balance, though, as several other players had impressive debuts on both defense and offense. Splitting setting duties, Paityn Collins and Kayden Carmack combined for 30 assists, and each contributed 14 digs on defense. Collins also hit for 8 kills on the day, hitting an impressive .143, second on the team only to Stidum. Janae Erwing also made the most of her Scottie debut, logging 10 kills to rank second in the contest, and added 8 digs on defense as well. 

Some of the landmarks for the team included:
- First set win in 82 sets. The last time the Scotties won a set was in their last victory, October 16, 2024, against former Collegiate Conference of the South foe, Wesleyan. 
- Most aces (14) by a Scottie team since the 10/16/24 match against Wesleyan
- Most digs (67) by a Scottie team since 10/12/24 against LaGrange
- Most assists (37) by a Scottie team since 9/20/24 against Paine
- The last time the Scotties saved a match point in a victory was in 2016, in a five-set win over Methodist

The Scotties will return to the road on Saturday, September 12, as they travel to NCAA Division II Edward Waters University, in Jacksonville, Florida.