Volleyball taken down by Union in five sets
WEST POINT, Ga. (Oct. 15, 2022) - The Point University Volleyball team returned to action at the West Point Park Gymnasium Saturday morning for an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup against Union College and fell 3-2 in a thrilling finish.
Play-by-Play (25-23, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20, 20-18)
The first set started with both trading scores back and forth, with both teams now being tied at seven. Paige Lowe and Abigail Hardwick added kills for the Skyhawks to now lead by two. The Bulldogs did not shy away from the quick lead as they tied the game back at nine. A kill from Hardwick and two attack errors from Union now gave Point a three-point lead. As the set continued, Point kept their lead at four after a kill from Marquez, but an attack error took it back to three. Jadakate Judkins contributed with a kill for the Skyhawks, which was followed by another kill for Marquez. Union gave themselves a chance by continuing to respond to any mistake they made by firing back with their offense which then cut their deficit to one. Sarah Baucham and Abigail Hardwick pushed Point's lead to 22-19 with their kills which forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Union came out of the timeout with a mindset to even the score by adding a kill on their end, which was then followed by two attack errors from Point. The Skyhawks were now ahead by one, and Sarah Baucham put the set to an end with a final kill.
The start of the second set was duplicated as the first, with both opponents trading scores. A kill by Jadakate Judkins and a service ace from Claire Cordell pushed the Skyhawks ahead by three. Union continued to stay within range of the set by responding with a kill of their own, but Baucham fired back to bring the score to 12-9. The Skyhawks' biggest lead in the set was moved to five after tallied kills from Baucham and Marquez, resulting in a Bulldogs timeout. Union climbed their way to now trail by three after a kill from Emily Shumaker and two errors by Point. The Skyhawks held the momentum as Hardwick converted on the attack, which followed with two miscues from Union to now see a 22-17 lead from Point. Sameily Marquez answered the bell on the offensive end for Point by ending the set with the two final kills to push Point ahead 2-0.
The Bulldogs looked like a different team in the third set, which showed from the start when they graced a 7-2 lead. Pointquickly put that momentum to rest as Marquez responded with a kill, and Ava Clay added two service aces to help Point score. Attack errors also played a factor in Point taking the lead 8-7. Union continued to show their resilience on offense as the following five scores d from kills to now leading 12-8. The Bulldogs' biggest lead of the evening was now at eight after tallying three kills along with Point's service error. Abigail Hardwick responded with a block followed by a kill from Baucham to now trail 18-12. Union 12. Union rallied to score the next three, forcing Point to call a timeout. From there, Marquez and Hardwick added kills for Point to trail 21-141-14. The Skyhawks continued their comeback tour with Kelsey Turner and Sameily Marquez taking the court by storm with multiple kills to bring the score to 23-20. Janie Claire Messer entered the scene for the Skyhawks with a kill to now trail by two, but Union struck back with a kill to lead 24-21. Two attack errors from the Bulldogs saw their lead almost slip away with them being ahead by one, but Emily Shumaker finished the set off with a kill.
Union continued their momentum in the fourth set with a quick 7-2 start, but the Skyhawks quickly cut the lead to two. A kill from the Bulldogs and two attack errors from Point forced them to call a timeout with them trailing by four now. The firepower from Union continued with execution on offense which rallied their biggest lead of the set with a 19-11 score. Two attack errors from Union and a service ace from Point gave them three scores to now trail by five. The Bulldogs' lead was extended back to seven after two errors from Point. A kill from Paige Lowe blocks from Lauren Watford, and a service ace from Daixa Andujo gave the Skyhawks three straight scores to now trail 21-17. Union responded with two scores, but Point added three on their end as the score now stood at 23-20. Two consecutive scores from the Bulldogs ended the set to push it to five.
The fifth set was a true nail-biter, with both teams fired up as they continued to trade scores at the beginning. Two attack errors and a kill from Marquez saw Point take a two-point lead before Union called a timeout. From there, Union responded with a kill, but Kelsey Turner added a kill for Point, along with Lauren Watford securing a block. Union fired back with three kills from Raquel Kessler and Emily Shumaker to bring the score to 9-9. Watford pushed the Skyhawks back in the lead with a kill, but Union tied it once again. With both teams continuing to find their way through the set, Union started to gain traction by taking a 17-16 lead with hopes of closing the set. Mackenzie Littrell did not let the set end just yet as she secured a kill to tie the game for Point. Union fired back with an answer, and Baucham helped tie it again for the Skyhawks Union got the upper edge as Raquel Kessler got the final two kills to help Union win in a comeback of five sets successfully.
In the box
Sameily Marquez led the Skyhawks with 21 kills on the evening, and Abigail Hardwick followed with 14. Whitney Ward served as the libero and tallied 23 digs on the defensive end. Marquez followed with 16 digs of her own. Paige Lowe tallied a season-high of 59 assists in the contest.
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to the West Point Park Gymnasium for an AAC matchup with in-state rival Reinhardt University on Tuesday, Oct. 18, starting at 6:30 p.m. Point will also recognize their seniors before the game starts.