Skyhawks reign victorious over Lagrange College
LAGRANGE, Ga. (Oct. 20, 2022) - The Point University Volleyball team returned to action in a nonconference game Thursday night, Oct. 20, against Lagrange College and won in four sets.
Play by play (25-13, 25-12, 26-24, 25-11)
Point came into the first set with Kelsey Turner and Abigail leading the way with multiple kills to take an early 11-7 lead on the Panthers, which forced LaGrange to call a timeout. Following the timeout, the Skyhawks continued their attack on offense as Hardwick racked three more kills and was followed by Turner to now lead by eight. Jordan Palmer's service ace and a service error from the Panthers pushed Point ahead with a score of 18-9. Point continued their hot streak with kills from Jadakate Judkins, Sameily Marquez and Paige Lowe. With the Skyhawks ahead by 22-12, Point finished off the Panthers in the first set, with Marquez and Turner getting the final kills in the set.
The Skyhawks started the second off with a quick 8-3 lead as Sarah Baucham, Abigail Hardwick and Kelsey Turner helped contribute. Janie Marie Messer by adding to the score for Point, which was followed by a service ace from Daixa Andujo. Messer followed with another kill which kicked off a 9-0 run for Point to now lead 21-7. A service error from the Skyhawks finally ended the run for Point, which put Lagrange back on the board. Point followed their run by ending the set with kills from Marquez, Turner and Messer, now moving ahead 2-0.
The third set started with both teams trading points, as the Panthers would not allow the Skyhawks to gain extra momentum for a big lead in the early beginnings of this set. With the Skyhawks ahead by two, a service error gave Lagrange the next score to now trail by one. Mackenzie Littrell followed by putting the Skyhawks back ahead 9-7, but Jharia Harris did not let that two-point deficit last for long as she tallied a kill to bring it back to a one-point game. Keylany Matos entered the game with an impact by racking up a kill to now push Point to a 10-8. As the Panthers kept chipping away at Point's lead, Lagrange finally found their rhythm with a 9-0 run to now take their biggest lead of six. The Skyhawks looked to tame the Panthers as they tallied the next three scores, but an attack error from Point and a service ace from Lagrange pushed the Panthers' lead to 23-18. Abigail Hardwick stepped up to gain three kills in a row to now have the Skyhawks trail by two. A kill by Matos, an attack error from LaGrange, and a kill from Sarah Baucham gave Point the lead by one. The Panther battled back with three scores to force a fourth set.
The Skyhawks came into the fourth with a mindset of offensive consistency, as their first six points were each off of kills to take a 6-2 lead. Point continued to show execute their plan as Lauren Watford showed her contributions by adding to the Skyhawks' lead with a kill of her own. As the set moved on, Point pushed their lead to 15-7 after Samiely Marquez fired off with a kill which was then followed by a block from Sarah Baucham. The Panthers looked to find an answer for Point's offense but could not contain the Skyhawks' run as they fell to a 4-0 run to trail 22-9. A service error from the Skyhawks and a service ace by Shania Espada gave the Panthers the next two scores, but Point finished off the match with three straight scores to win in four sets.
In the box
Abigail Hardwick continued her hot streak on the offensive end with 15 kills and was followed by Kelsey Turner, who had 12. Samiely Marquez also had double-digit kills with 10. Jordan Palmer racked up a double-double with 15 digs and 10 assists. Reigning AAC Setter of the Week, Paige Lowe, also tallied a double-double with 38 assists and 21 digs.
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to the court in a road matchup, Tuesday night on Oct. 25 against St. Andrews University in an AAC Matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.