Volleyball holds off the Knights in five sets
LAURINBURG, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2022) -The Point University volleyball team returned to the court for an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup against St. Andrews University, where the conference thriller went to five sets with Point taking the win.
Play by play (26-24, 26-24, 25-16, 25-23, 15-13)
The Knights started the first set on their home court with a quick 7-1 lead. Point halted the Knights' run after an attack error which was then followed by kills from Kelsey Turner and Abigail Hardwick. Two errors from St. Andrews took the Knight lead down to one. Two service aces and a kill from the Knights extended their lead, and an attack error from Point helped push the Knights' lead to 11-6. Turner responded with a kill and was then followed by two service aces from Daixa Andujo. The Knights continued to hold onto their lead as they went on a 4-0 run to push their lead to six. After the timeout from the Skyhawks, Point started to find their rhythm as they went on a 7-3 run to now trail by one point. Business started to pick up as the Knights kept a grip on their lead with their offensive firepower to tally four kills in a row to now lead 23-18. Kills from Jadakate Judkins and Abigail Hardwick helped slow St. Andrews down, which was then followed by two attack errors from the Knights. St. Andrews was unable to respond to the late firepower from Point as Abigail Hardwick and Sameily Marquez finished the first set to complete the comeback.
The Skyhawks carried their momentum into the second set with a 7-2 start. St. Andrews responded with a 4-1 run to now trail by two. The Skyhawks held the lead and extended their lead to 14-10 after blocks from Sarah Baucham and Kelsey Turner, along with multiple kills from Sameily Marquez. As the Skyhawks looked to cruise through the second set, St. Andrews ended their cold streak to go on a 7-2 run, which resulted in both teams now being tied at 19. Marquez pushed the Skyhawks back into the lead with a kill, but an attack error from Point put the score at a tie again. The Skyhawks extended their lead to two when Hardwick tallied a kill, along with St. Andrews not getting the ball over the net to bring the score 23-21. The Knights wiped away Point's lead with a 3-0 run to now lead 24-23. Keylany Matos added a kill to hold off St. Andrews for the quick finish, but the Knights answered the bell with two consecutive scores to win the second set.
Point came into set three with every intention to put the last set behind them by starting off with a 6-2 lead. An attack error from Point, a kill from St. Andrews and a service ace added three points for the Knights to bring their deficit to one. Point extended their lead after the Knights added two service errors, along with kills from Mackenzie Littrell and Lauren Watford. St. Andrews followed with another run to put the lead in their hands to now lead 14-13. Resulting of that, Point elevated by adding kills and taking advantage of each miscue from the Knights. The Skyhawks also allowed two more points in this set to win 25-16.
The Knights came into the fourth set with the early lead and continued to fight their way into doing whatever they could to push for another set. With St. Andrews leading 13-8, A kill from Marquez started a 7-0 run for the Skyhawks to put them in the lead by two. A block from Sarah Baucham and Keylany Matos added to their lead which was followed by a service ace from Paige Lowe. The Knights came together and upped the ante on offense by going a 7-1 run which five of those scores came from kills and a service ace. This run helped the Knights take the lead, but the service error from St. Andrews tied the game at 20. Both teams traded scores as Samanta Vernati added a kill for the Knights and Mackenzie Littrell responded with a kill of her own. The effort from the Knights continued to add pressure to Point as the Knights tallied two kills to take a two-point lead. Littrell's kill and a service error from the Knights tied the game at 23. St. Andrews prevailed with the final two scores to force the match to five sets.
A 6-3 lead in the fifth set is the start the Knights needed to continue their momentum, which resulted in a timeout from the Skyhawks. Mackenzie Littell made her moments count as she tallied two kills which were then followed by a block from Paige Lowe and Lauren Watford to tie the game at six. St. Andrews continued their offensive approach by adding two kills and a service ace to now lead by three. Point's 5-2 run was highlighted by a service ace from Claire Cordell and kills from Ava Clay, Sarah Baucham and Lauren Watford. The Skyhawks' mindset to finish was put on full display as Baucham, Clay and Hardwick finished the set with the final three kills, with Point only allowing one more score on the defensive side.
In the box
Sarah Baucham, Mackenzie Littrell and Sameily Marquez helped the Skyhawks on the offensive side, with each player adding nine kills. Abigail Hardwick followed with a contribution of seven kills. Paige Lowe added a double-double with 47 assists along with 16 digs and contributed five kills for Point. Jordan Palmer led as the anchor on defense with 30 digs, and Whitney Ward added 13 of her own.
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to action in a road AAC matchup against Montreat College on Friday, Oct. 28, at 5:30 p.m.