Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller Against Bryan
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tennessee Wesleyan (5-8, 2-1) | 25 | 20 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 3 |
|
Bryan (TN) (1-9, 0-3) | 14 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
DAYTON, Tenn.- The volleyball team went on the road for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) match on Tuesday. The team traveled to the court of their rival, the Bryan College Lady Lions. An exciting match that went to five sets saw TWU win 3-2.
Tennessee Wesleyan set the tone early, capitalizing on Bryan's errors to surge to a 3-0 lead. Strong serves from Olivia Bolin along with kills by Amya Sutton and Shante Smith helped the the Lady Bulldogs close out the set in dominant fashion, winning 25-14.
The opponents won the second set. Tennessee Wesleyan's offense saw points from Olivia Miller and Sutton help the team keep the set, but Bryan ultimately won the set 25-20 to tie the match 1-1.
In the third set, the Lady Bulldogs regained control of the match. TWU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, once again taking advantage of Bryan's mistakes. The offense continued to punish Bryan with relentless attacks, moving ahead by as many as 11 points during the set a few times. Despite a late push by Bryan, the Lady Bulldogs claimed the set 25-23, moving one step closer to victory.
Bryan forced the fifth set by winning the fourth set 25-19. Tennessee Wesleyan continued to deliver strong offense, with kills from Janie Merritt and Alley Hibdon in the set, but Bryan found their rhythm late in the set, edging out a 25-19 win to force a fifth and final set.
The final set belonged to Tennessee Wesleyan. Miller and Sutton led the charge, quickly putting Bryan on the back foot with relentless attacks. The Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead 10-6, thanks to Sutton's kill and a crucial service ace by Talynn Wheeler. Despite one last push by Bryan, TWU's offensive prowess proved too much to handle, and they closed out the set 15-11 to secure the 3-2 victory. The win broke a 10-match losing streak to Bryan.
Sutton finished the match with 18 kills, Smith added 15 kills and Miller had a career-high 11 kills. Hibdon had 21 assists and a career-high 16 digs.
The win moved the team's record to 5-8 overall and 2-1 in the AAC.