posted October 11, 2008
The Bryan College volleyball team, fresh off an easy victory Friday, had to survive a tough first set to pull out a 3-0 victory (27-25, 25-20, 25-18) over visiting Bluefield College on Saturday.
The Rams outhustled the Lions in the first match, forcing the Lions out of rhythm. The Lions had a comfortable 4-point lead at 18-14, but shaky passing from the Lions and good front-row play from the Rams tied the score at 20-20. The two teams gritted out the next several points, with the Lions having set point at 24-23 and 25-24 before eventually pulling out the win.
The Lions fell behind in set two 6-3, but responded well, tying the set at 12-12, then pulling away for the 25-20 lead.
The Lions looked to pull away from Bluefield in the third, but the Rams continued to stall any runs from the Lions. The host team built a 23-15 cushion, but struggled to hold off the surging Ram team before a Ram error and a kill from Sarah Lyons ended the match.
Lyons had a second solid match against Bluefield, hitting .412 from the right side to pace the Lions. The trio of Robin Renfroe, Alison Young, and Amber Smith contributed 22 kills, while Amanda Manke led the Lions with 18 assists. Jessica Kaya keyed the Lion defense with 14 digs in the back-row.
“We survived a tough match against a very scrappy team today," commented head coach Leo Sayles. "The first game, we almost put our heads in a noose, committing 10 attacking errors and 13 errors overall. We are very lucky to have come out with a win that first game.
"We had control in the next two, but the Bluefield players are playing with more energy and passion this year, and they refused to give up. Our efficiency returned up front, which helped bolster our struggling back-row today.
"I am so pleased with this group of girls. They keep showing resiliency and had to work together to pull out a tough one. I like where we sit in conference right now. We’ll take a few days off over fall break and gear up for an important trip to Illinois for competition.”
The Lions, now 12-1 in conference (18-3 overall) will travel to Clinton, Iowa, for a non-conference match at Ashford on Oct. 16, then travel to Joliet, Ill., to compete in the Big Guns tourney at the University of St. Francis.
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