Volleyball Forces Fifth Set Against Johnson

Knoxville, Tenn.- The women's volleyball team went back on the road for a match on Tuesday. The team traveled north to Knoxville to take on the Johnson University Lady Royals, a conference opponent.

The first set saw Johnson move ahead 6-1 through the first seven points. A kill by Olivia Miller helped the team cut the lead down to three with the scoreboard reading 8-5. The opponents extended their lead though, moving ahead 16-9 over the next few minutes. Johnson went on to take the first set 25-14.

The second set saw kills by Kamari Jackson and Madison Coffey help the team tie the score 3-3 early in the set. The score remained close as three more ties occurred until a run of points by Johnson made the score 12-7. TWU went on a run of their own, seeing points from Amya Sutton, Shante Smith, and Jackson help the team take a 13-12 lead. The opponents were not able to pull away in the set. After a 19-19 tie, the set saw six more ties. The final tie, 25-25, was broken by a Megan Lee kill and block assists by Miller and Lee to give the Lady Bulldogs set two by a score of 27-25.

The third set went to the opponents. Through the first 10 points, Tennessee Wesleyan held a 6-4 lead on a Megan Thompson service ace. Johnson went used a 10-4 run to move ahead 14-10. Two straight points, including a service ace by Olivia Bolin helped the team cut the lead to two points. The opponents scored 11 of the next 15 points to take the third set 25-16.

Facing the potential end of the match down 2-1, the Lady Bulldogs overtook the lead in the third set 10-9 on a Madison Miner kill. The team held on to the lead over the next several minutes, holding an 18-13 lead on Coffey's kill. The momentum shifted a bit though as Johnson came back and took a 22-21 lead. TWU did not falter, matching point for point with Johnson until the Lady Bulldogs won the fourth set 28-26.

The momentum did not stay with Tennessee Wesleyan in the fifth set. Johnson ran out to a 7-2 lead and the Lady Bulldogs could not overcome the deficit, falling in the fifth set 15-3 and in the match 15-3.

Sutton led the offense with 11 kills while Lee set a new career-high with eight kills. Thompson led five players in double-figure digs with 16 while Kate Hobbs set a new career-high with 13 digs. Bolin had a season-high 22 assists while leading the team in the match.

The team stays on the road for their next match as they travel to Kentucky. The team will face Kentucky Christian University in a conference match on Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m.