Point Volleyball soars past Faulkner in road SSAC Play
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Sept. 16, 2023) - The Point University Volleyball team returned to the court as the Skyhawks traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, for a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup against the Faulkner Eagles, where Point won in four sets.
Set One (25-18, Won)
The Skyhawks came into the first rolling as Point took an early 8-3 lead to set the tone. The service error halted the run for the Skyhawks, but Point took the following two scores as Ava Clay fired for a kill and Faulkner made an attack error. Point went on a 5-1 run as kills from Aaliyah Lobendahn and Tianna Kynard played a key role in adding to their lead. Two attack errors from the Eagles brought Point's lead to 10 with a 16-6 score. The Skyhawks continued to take advantage of the errors from Faulkner with a 20-9 lead but the Eagles went on a run of their own to bring the set to a 22-18 score with hopes of a comeback. Point erased the hopes as two attack errors and a kill from Tianna Kynard helped Point take the first set 25-18.
Set Two (25-23, Loss)
The Skyhawks carried their momentum into the second set with an early 7-3 lead before Faulkner started to get rolling by scoring the following five points to take the lead by one. Three errors from the Eagles put Point back in the lead by two, but Faulkner retaliated with the next three points to regain the lead 11-10. Aaliyah Lobendahn continued her day by tying the game at 11 with a kill and the Skyhawks with two more scores to lead by one. The set continued to see both teams trade scores and trade leads. With the score tied at 19, Jadakate Judkins fired on all cylinders with a kill to put Point in the lead by one. Faulkner responded with three scores to regain the lead with the score at 22-20. Aaliyah Lobendahn and Sameily Marquez responded with two kills as the Skyhawks trailed by two, but Faulkner would get the final kill to take the second set 25-23.
Set Three (25-23, Win)
The third set saw both teams continue to go back and forth on the court by trading scores, which saw Faulkner get the upper hand with a 9-7 lead. Two attack errors from the Eagles and kills from Aaliyah Lobendahn and Ava Clay helped the Skyhawks regain the lead by three. Point continued to wake up on the offensive end as Sameily Marquez, Tianna Kynard, and Ava Clay extended Point's lead to 17-12. Faulkner scored the following five points to tie it at 17, showing that the Eagles still had energy left in the tank to steal the set. With Point trying to regain momentum, Aaliyah Lobendahn stepped up with two kills to tie it at 21, followed by an attack error from Faulkner and a service ace from Paige Lowe. As Faulkner took the following two scores to tie it at 23, Ava Clay's kill and Aaliyah Lobendahn's service ace ended the set with Point winning by two.
Set Four (25-13, Win)
Point's momentum picked up in the fourth set as the Skyhawks started as Emma Parker's service ace helped bring an early 9-3 lead. Point continued to add to their deficit as Aaliyah Lobendahn and Claire added to the Skyhawks' lead at 14-6. Point Volleyball continued to light up the gym as Aaliyah Lobendahn continued to catch fire with another kill, followed by two service aces from Jadakate Judkins. With the score at 20-10, the Skyhawks would allow three more scores from Faulkner as Point finished the set with an attack error from Faulkner and kills from Tianna Kynard and Aaliyah Lobendahn to win the match in four sets.
In the box
Aaliyah Lobendahn led the Skyhawks with 21 kills, the fourth most kills in a match in school history. Lobendahn also added 11 digs and two service aces. Tianna Kyanrd followed with nine kills and two digs. Sameily Marquez added six kills and four digs. Paige Lowe added her season high with 40 assists. Jordan Palmer led with 18 digs to move her career total to 799, 201 digs away from 1,000.
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to action with a home matchup at the West Point Park Gymnasium against Life University on Friday, September 22nd, for an SSAC Matchup at 6:00 P.M.