The Bryan Lions and Bluefield College Rams took turns swapping sets until the home team couldn’t handle their fellow Appalachian Athletic Conference counterpart as the Lions capitalized in a dominating 15-5 fifth set win to lock in a 3-2 victory and improve their overall record to 13-8 and conference record to 8-4. The Rams dropped to 11-12 overall and 4-8 in AAC action.
Several Lions turned in notable performances with Rachel Mosley leading the attack by collecting a game-high 18 kills and .371 attack percentage, followed by Hannah Smith with 11 kills, and Hope Burnett and Paige Lawson each tallying 10 kills apiece. In only the second time of her career, Shelby Enochs reached the 50-assist mark in a match, totaling 50 assists against the Rams. Kayla Rymer led all players in digs with 26. Bryan was also aided in the digs column by Eryn Walker, Enochs, and Smith who all registered 11 digs, respectively. Smith was impassable as she notched three solo blocks, while Lawson and Burnett each produced four block assists. Bryan narrowly edged Bluefield in kills 58-57 but carried a .201 attack percentage compared to the Rams’ .178. The block battle went Bryan’s way 13-8.
As the first set got underway, Bryan established an early 7-3 lead, but it wouldn’t last long as Bluefield rallied to tie the score 10-10. Two more ties followed, but the turning point occurred at 14-14 when the Rams used a kill to regain the lead 15-14 and never look back as they wouldn’t surrender it for the rest of the opening set, winning it 25-22 and taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
After trailing the entire second set, Bryan used an 11-2 run to turn a 20-14 score into a 25-22 come-from-behind win, which evened the match score 1-1.
A kill by Smith leveled the score 12-12 midway through the third set, but the Rams countered with two consecutive points to jump ahead 14-12. At 18-15, a kill by Mosley and two kills by Lawson once again evened the score, 18-18. A service error would be the only other point given to Bryan as the Rams silenced the Lions to a 25-19 third set win, taking control of the match 2-1.
Bluefield only needed one last set to capture the victory, but Bryan had different plans as the fourth set unfolded and the Lions set the mood with a 10-5 lead out of the gate. The Rams maintained a five-point difference with the Lions at 15-10, but Bryan applied pressure and answered with a 10-5 run for a 25-15 win, sending the match into a fifth set.
Tied 3-3 in the final set, two kills in a row by Burnett and an ace by Smith helped build momentum as Bryan turned a 6-3 advantage into a 10-3 lead. The Rams attempted a push, but the Lions held Bluefield to only two more points as they ended it 15-5 for a 3-2 match win.
Lions Volleyball continues conference play as they travel to Columbia, S.C. where Allen University is hosting a tri-match with Milligan College (Tenn.) and Bryan. The matchup between Allen and Bryan is slated for 11am, and the Lions tipoff against the Milligan Buffaloes at 1pm.