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Photo taken by Nathaly Villalobos
Photo taken by Nathaly Villalobos
Posted: Oct 11, 2022

Skyhawks unable to squeeze by TMU

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ga. (Oct. 11, 2022) - The Point University volleyball team traveled to Cleveland, Ga. Tuesday evening to take on Truett McConnell University in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup and fell 3-0. 

Play by play (25-21, 25,23, 27-25) 

The Skyhawks came into the first set with the intention to set the tone as they jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. The Bears looked to find their rhythm, but a kill from Mackenzie Littrell and Whitney Ward added two more scores for Point. The Skyhawks continued to attack the net as they took advantage of errors from TMU, which then followed another kill from Littrell. TMU came out of their timeout with a different mindset to take control of the set, which resulted in a 6-0 run to now lead 18-17. The Bears continued their efforts by tacking on three more points after attack errors from Point and kills from TMU. Whitney Ward responded to the Bears' run by adding a kill for the Skyhawks to now trail by three. An attack error from TMU followed, which brought Truett McConnell's lead to 22-20. The Bears added to their lead after an attack error from the opposing side, but Ward added another to kill, bringing the deficit back to two. Truett McConnell added two kills back-to-back to finish off the first set.  

Point started the second set with offensive firepower as Kelsey Turner and Mackenzie Littrell tallied multiple kills to help the Skyhawks get a 6-1 lead. Ranvaia Neal fired back with a kill which then followed an attack error from Point to bring the deficit to three. Littrell continued to add the offensive spark for the Skyhawks by adding another kill to bring the score 7-3. The Bears came out of their timeout with a quick response with a kill from Sonya Silecky and an attack error from Point. Littrell pushed the Skyhawks' lead back to three, but the Bears with two of their own, along with a miscue from Point, which brought the game to a tie. Point extended the lead to two after kills from Ward and Littrell. Both teams continued to trade leads until Whitney Ward tallied a kill, followed by two straight from Sarah Baucham. TMU responded with a 7-1 run, which now pushed the momentum on their side with a 15-18 lead. Point remained unfazed as Littrell's hot streak continued when she tacked on another score for the Skyhawks, which then followed an error from the Bears to now trail by one. Following Truett's timeout, Kelsey Turner contributed two kills to have the game tied once more. As the set came down to the final point, the Skyhawks took advantage of the mistakes from TMU to now lead 21-19. A service error trimmed Point's lead to one, but another kill from Mackenzie Littrell extended it back to a two-point game. The Bears added two kills which followed two attack errors from the Skyhawks, to now lead 24-22. TMU had every intention to elevate their attack on the net, but a kill by Mya Sterling gave Point a fighting chance to continue the set. Katie Williams responded with a kill to end the set to now push the Bears up by two sets. 

The third set started off with both teams unable to take the big lead over one another as both teams fought to keep the game in their hands. With the score now being tied at five, Truett McConnell went on a 5-1 run to now lead by four. As the Bears continued to try to hold their lead, Sarah Baucham took her opportunity by adding a kill for Point to bring the deficit to three. The Bears responded with an attack from Neal and extended their lead to seven which was their biggest lead in the set so far. Sameily Marquez entered the fray with a kill which helped cook up a 6-0 run for the Skyhawks to now trail 20-19. As Point inched closer to taking the lead, two attack errors would push TMU ahead by three. Marquez and Turner countered their previous errors by adding two scores for Point, which was then followed by an error from TMU to bring the score to 23-22. Truett McConnell quickly pushed their deficit back to two points, but a service error from the Bears and a kill from Littrell brought the game tied at 24. Point kept the set alive by adding to their score with another kill, but the Bears prevailed with two straight kills to complete the sweep. 

In the box 

Mackenzie Littrell led the Skyhawks with 13 kills in the matchup, and Whitney Ward followed with eight. Reigning AAC Defender of the week, Jordan Palmer, continued to show her competitive spirit on the defensive end by tacking on 34 digs. Paige Lowe dished out 35 assists in the matchup for Point. 

Up next 

The Skyhawks will return to action at the West Point Park Gymnasium Friday afternoon for an AAC matchup against Johnson University starting at 4:30 p.m.