Volleyball rolls past the Bulldogs in four sets
ATHENS, Tenn. (Oct. 1, 2022) - The Point University volleyball team returned to the court for an Appalachian Athletic Conference showdown against Tennessee Wesleyan University and were victorious in four sets.
Play by play (25-21, 25-23, 25-15, 25-16)
The Skyhawks took the court with a mindset to start fast and did not disappoint as they took an early 8-2 lead. TWU battled back to cut the deficit to three, hoping to freeze Point and create a run of their own. Two straight kills by Keylany Matos and Jadakate Judkins brought the Skyhawks back in the lead within five. The Bulldogs finally found their rhythm by going on a 4-0 run to now trail 12-11, but an attack error brought the Skyhawks' lead back to two. The Bulldogs kept their composure by going another 4-0 run to take the lead 15-14, which now erased their slow start from the beginning of the match. Sameily Marquez and Sarah Baucham tallied two straight kills to wipe the Bulldogs' lead away. Both teams continued to trade points back and forth, which saw TWU take a three-point lead to try to officially halt Point from any other momentum. Point would not go away easy as the Skyhawks came back with a 9-2 run to win the first set by four.
The second set saw the same kind of start for the Skyhawks by taking a 7-3 lead. The Skyhawks continued their attack on the net by adding kills back to back, but the Bulldogs found life on their side by coming back to now trail 12-10. Point returned the favor with a 6-2 run to now led by five, which forced Tennessee Wesleyan to call a timeout. Coming from the timeout, Point continued to hold their lead as Baucham and Matos added extra kills to extend the lead to 21-17. TWU showed no quit in their team as they took advantage of two attack errors along with two kills to tie the game. Marquez responded with a kill to take the lead for Point but would be halted as Amya Sutton helped tie the game again for Tennessee Wesleyan. Whitney Ward fired back with a kill of her to bring the Skyhawks back in the lead, but TWU would tack on a kill along with the Skyhawks having two attack errors to now tie the sets 1-1.
Point continued their trend of starting off on fire by taking an early 8-0 lead in the third set. The Bulldogs looked to slow down the Skyhawks, but Matos followed with two extra kills to extend their lead to be ahead by 10. TWU tacked on a few points on the scoreboard but could not find the mojo to extend their run as they did in the past sets. Point continued their fiery stretch by taking advantage of any mistake from TWU and elevating together as a team. Point did not give up their lead in this set as Jadakate Judkins got the final kill to help the Skyhawks go up 2-1.
The fourth set was crucial for both teams TWU made every effort not to drop this set. Kills by Baucham and Matos added to their quick start, which forced a timeout for the Bulldogs. Judkins added to the Skyhawks' start with a block to bring the lead 8-3. Point's offensive attack increased with Marquez and Baucham adding a kill to now lead by seven. The Bulldogs continue to find answers for the Skyhawks but would be halted as the Skyhawks tallied three straight kills from Jadakate Judkins, Daixa Andujo and Mya Sterling to now lead 21-13. The Bulldogs seemed to find their way back as TWU responded with three consecutive points of their own until the Point tacked three more points to end the set, winning the whole match in four.
In the box
Keylany Matos led the Skyhawks on the offensive end with 13 kills, and Sameily Marquez followed with 11. Sarah Baucham also contributed 10 kills in the evening. Defensive standout, Jordan Palmer, continued to anchor the defense with 25 digs for the Skyhawks. Paige Lowe set up Point's attacks at the net with 49 assists.
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to action for a quick trip on the road to Gainesville, Ga. To take on Brenau University in an AAC matchup Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m.