Skyhawks unable to fly past the Eagles in epic AAC showdown

WEST POINT, Ga. (Oct. 18, 2022) -The Point University Skyhawks returned to West Point Park Gymnasium Tuesday night for an epic Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup against Reinhardt University and fell to the Eagles in five sets. 

Play by play (25-21, 26-24, 25-13, 29-27, 15-13) 

The Skyhawks came into the first set with every intention to wipe off a repeat from the last matchup with Reinhardt, where they lost to the Eagles in a sweep as they took a quick 8-4 lead before a timeout was called. The Eagles clawed their way back into play after converting on multiple kills and taking advantage of two attack errors to tie the game at nine. Sarah Baucham and Whitney Ward made their presence known on defense the very next play with a block then Ward followed that with a kill to push the lead by two. Point took their biggest lead with a lead of seven after the Eagles after a kill from Kelsey Turner and three attack errors from Reinhardt. Following the timeout from the Eagles, the Skyhawks tallied two more kills from Abigail Hardwick and Whitney Ward. Reinhardt started to find their groove with their next three points coming in a kill, block, and attack error from Point to now trail by four. Hardwick and Ward fired back with kills to push the Skyhawks ahead 23-17. As the set neared the end, the Eagles rallied four more points to trail by three, but an attack error ended the set to push Point to take the first set. 

The Eagles started the second set with the first two scores, but a service error put the Skyhawks on the board to trail by one. Kelsey Turner helped tie the game with two consecutive kills from her and Abigail Hardwick followed with two straight of her own to now lead by two points. As Reinhardt jumped back into the lead, two attack errors from the Eagles and two service aces from Claire Cordell gave the Skyhawks a 12-10 lead. Reinhardt's two kills and the Skyhawks' attack error quickly put the Eagles back in the lead until two mistakes turned the lead back to Point. As the set continued to see both teams trade scores, the Skyhawks took a 22-21 lead after a kill from Ward and an attack error from Reinhardt. The Eagles returned the favor as Emma Ponkovo fired with a kill and a miscue from Point to now lead by one. Point took the lead once more after another kill from Ward and an error from Reinhardt, but the Eagles did not wait for long to jump back ahead as they now led 25-24. An attack error from the Skyhawks resulted in the Eagles taking this set. 

The third set was in Reinhardt's favor as they took an early 13-4 lead after the hot start on offense. Abigail Hardwick answered with a kill and two service aces as the Skyhawks now trailed by six. The Eagles' momentum continued to build as they jumped ahead to a 17-9 lead. Sameily Marquez entered the fray with back-to-back kills for Point to now trail 18-11. The Eagles proved to have everything going their way in this set as Reinhardt would only allow two more scores from Point and would take the third set, now leading 2-1. 

The Skyhawks came into the fourth set on a mission to keep the match going which led to a 10-4 start for Point. Jadakate Judkins continued her contribution for the Skyhawks as she tallied the next two scores for Point to now lead 12-7. Reinhardt could not shake off the slow start in this set as the Skyhawks went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to nine, in which four of the points were scored from kills. The Eagles started to battle back as they rallied with kills and added a service ace to now only trail by three points. A service era from the Eagles would give the next score to Point, but Reinhardt turned the game into a dramatic turn of events as they scored the next four points to now tie the game. As both teams tried to end off the set, Point would get the upper hand as Hardwick rallied with two kills, and errors from the Eagles to force a fifth set. 

Three attack errors from Reinhardt and a kill from Sarah Baucham gave Point the early 4-2 lead in the fifth set. As the Skyhawks took the next two scores, the Eagles followed with a rally of their own to tie the game at six. Jadakate Judkins and Sarah Baucham did not shy away from the big moment as they both added kills to contribute to the score for Point, which was then followed by an attack error from Reinhardt. Following the timeout from the Eagles, Allison Selway helped Reinhardt find their way back into the set with a kill of her. Sameily Marquez returned the favor to push Point ahead 10-7. As the set moved along, the Eagles came from trailing by three to scoring three straight points to lead 12-11, which forced a timeout from Point. Kelsey Turner made sure the Skyhawks did not go away fast as she scored the next two points for the Skyhawks as they now trailed by one. As Point looked to tie the game to win by two, the Eagles finished the set with a kill from Maria Piliposyans to win the match in five sets. 

In the box 

Abigail Hardwick led the Skyhawks with 19 kills, nine digs, and three service aces. Kelsey Turner followed with 12 kills and three digs. Jordan Palmer led the Skyhawks with 25 digs on the evening, and Sarah Baucham added six blocks. Reigning AAC Setter of the Week, Paige Lowe tallied a double-double with 48 assists and 20 digs.  

Up next 

The Skyhawks will take a quick trip to LaGrange College for a nonconference matchup on Thursday, Oct. 20, starting at 7:00 p.m.