– In their third tri-match of the year, the Bryan Lions Volleyball team traveled to St. Andrews University Saturday to battle the Knights and the Bulldogs of Union College (Ky.) in Appalachian Athletic Conference action. The Lions paced their way to a sweep of the home team to begin play in the morning (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) but struggled to keep momentum as Union earned the victory through four sets (21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25). Bryan moves to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the AAC, St. Andrews is now at 11-7 overall and 8-3 in conference play, and Union shifts their overall record to 18-7 and 9-2 in conference.
13 total ties and five lead changes sum up the back-and-forth play in the opening set.
An error by Bryan provided St. Andrews with their largest lead of the set at 7-4. The Lions rallied back, and a service error by the Knights and a combined block by Rachel Mosley and Shelby Enochs put Bryan back on top 11-10. The Lions were unable to create separation as the Knights battled their way back into the lead at 15-14. Bryan countered with a kill from Hannah Smith, a kill by Paige Lawson, and a set error by St. Andrews to climb back ahead 17-15. Bryan’s largest lead of the set, also being three points, was achieved once again at 22-19. Despite letting the Knights tally three more points, the Lions ended the first set 25-22, taking an early 1-0 lead in the match.
The narrow margins continued into the second set as both teams saw 15 tie points and eight lead changes, but St. Andrews couldn’t ever grow theirs to over one point. Midway through the set, the score was leveled 12-12 and managed to stay a one-point game until at 18-17 the Lions four unanswered points to jump ahead 21-18. Up 24-20 and only needing one more point, Bryan struggled to capitalize as St. Andrews produced four back-to-back scores to make it an even 24-24. The Lions ended any chance of a comeback as a kill by Lawson and kill by Alyssa Casillas sealed a 26-24 win and 2-0 lead.
The Knights controlled the lead at 10-7 to begin the third set, and the Lions eased their way to tie the score 15-15 but that would be the turning point of the set. Bryan allowed St. Andrews only four more points in the final set as the host team couldn’t keep up giving the Lions a 25-19 win and 3-0 match victory.
Smith led the Lions on the attack with 16 kills, while Hope Burnett followed with 11 and Lawson with 10. Bryan outkilled St. Andrews 46-40 and produced an impressive .297 attack percentage to their .164. The Lions also won the block battle 5-3. Enochs had a team-high 45 assists, two aces, and aided with seven digs. Kayla Rymer was the only Lion to turn in double-digit digs with 10, trailed closely by Lawson with eight. Mosley added in three block assists.
The numbers did not go Bryan’s way in their second match of the day as Union led the kill count 53-44 and owned a .172 attack percentage compared the Lions’ .134. It was a close battle in blocks as the Bulldogs inched past the Lions 8-7.
Smith and Burnett notched double-digits again in the kills column with 10 apiece, and Mosley followed with nine and Lawson with eight. Enochs turned in another great performance with a team-leading 39 assists. Rymer reached 20 digs, and Enochs followed with 14 and Smith with 10. The only two aces from the Bryan side were served up by Smith.
Bryan was on top early at 10-7, but Union fought their way back into it and tied the score 10-10. Neither team could make a run until at 15-15 the Bulldogs secured a lead that would not be surrendered for the duration of the set. A combined effort by Enochs and Mosley for the block, a kill by Enochs, and an error by Union brought Bryan within three points, 24-21, but an error by the Lions gave the Bulldogs the first set 25-21.
Despite dropping the first point to the Bulldogs, the Lions responded with a kill by Smith and a shared block between Smith and Burnett for a lead that wouldn’t be lost for the rest of the second set. With a 10-7 lead, Bryan produced a remarkable 11-3 run to claim a more than comfortable 21-10 advantage. The inability to close out the set allowed a dramatic turn when Union broke free with a 12-2 run, cutting the deficit to one, 23-22. The Lions ended any hope of the Bulldogs when Mosley slammed a kill and pressured an error on the other side of the net for a 25-22 second set win, bringing the match score to 1-1.
An ace by Smith gave the Lions a 9-3 edge to begin play in the third set, but the Bulldogs came loose with an 8-1 run to establish a lead at 11-10. Unable to pull away, both teams were deadlocked at 15-15. Five straight points by Union proved too much for Bryan as the Bulldogs took a 20-16 lead and stayed ahead for a 25-21 set win. Union went ahead 2-1 in the match, only needing one more for the win against Bryan.
Three consecutive points by Union set the mood in the final set as the Bulldogs controlled an early lead and never looked back. Midway through the set, Union was up 14-10 and held Bryan to only six more scores as the Bulldogs compiled 11 points for a 25-16 final set win and 3-1 victory versus the Lions.
In the opening match, Bryan Head Coach, Jessica Day explained, “We played well and stuck to our game plan. The girls did an excellent job at mixing things up to keep St. Andrews on their toes. We took advantage of their week spots and didn’t let up.” After coming up short against one of the better sides in the AAC, Day said, “We started of pretty good and just fell behind. We made too many unforced errors throughout the match, which allowed Union to get on runs. They capitalized on our weaknesses, and we couldn’t reciprocate.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30pm, the Lions continue conference play when they travel to Bluefield, Va. for a matchup against the Rams of Bluefield College.