The Bryan Lady Lions volleyball team found a way to win to slide past Covenant in the Appalachian Athletic Conference standings and take the final playoff spot, then suffered a couple of weekend losses.
Tuesday night was senior night at Summers Gymnasium, and the program bade farewell to seniors Kim Barlow, Lauren Goodge and Christine Pratt.
After a short ceremony to honor the seniors, the Lions settled down to take care of the business at hand. The Lions, in 9th place in the conference standings, needed a win against Tennessee Wesleyan, and needed Covenant to lose at Union to force a tie for the final spot in the tournament.
The Lions made quick work of the visiting Bulldogs, winning in 3, 30-17, 30-23, 33-31. The win was the first for the Lions since their solid midseason victory over Covenant on Oct. 4, ending a slide of 8 matches.
The Lions were very balanced with their attack, hitting a season-high .373. Setter Kathryn Rawley led the attack with 43 assists and 8 digs. Barlow and Abby Humphrey both finished with double-doubles. Barlow had 11 kills and 11 digs, and Humphrey had 13 kills and 10 digs. The play of sophomores Leah White and Laura Dickey was exceptional. White finished with 8 kills, and Dickey hit a match-high .583, finishing with 7 kills and 3 blocks. Freshman Robin Renfroe's much-improved play led to a strong night for her, finishing with 9 kills and 4 blocks.
With Covenant's loss to Union that night, the Lions went into the weekend needing to stay even with Covenant as both teams traveled to face AAC #1 Brevard, and #5 Montreat. Covenant's loss to Montreat on Friday eased the pressure on the Lions, going into their morning match against Brevard.
In the Brevard match, the Lions kept pace in game 1, staying with the host school to a 13-13 tie, but Brevard went on an 8 point burst, initiated from a tough serve and impressive play on the court. The game slipped away, with Brevard winning 30-17. The second game was much the same, with the Lions staying close until they fell behind 14-11, and tightened up, eventually losing 30-19.
"Our two biggest problems in the early games were we struggled in a couple of key serve-receive positions and our normally strong block did not surface until the third game of the match," said Coach Leo Sayles.
The Lions came to life in game three, taking an early 6-0 lead, and never relinquishing it, winning 30-22. However, Brevard came back even stronger, and took the fourth game with a solid 30-18 win. "We knew beforehand that Brevard is always tough in their place. They probably have the two most intelligent middles in Sandy Tabor and Marquessa Chappell, and they have a formidable offensive attack. Of course, Brevard had a lot on the line as well. A loss to us, and they would lose the conference regular season championship, so they played a passionate match. Honestly, though, the score really did not indicate how hard both teams had to fight. There was truly tremendous play during the match. I was surprised a couple of times when I looked up and saw that the score was not as close as I thought. I give Coach Skeffington credit for scouting us well and knowing our weaknesses well."
Kim Barlow continued to show her ability in the middle, finishing with 22 kills, 4 blocks and 11 digs. Abby Humphrey tallied yet another double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs.
The final conference match of the regular season was against Montreat on their senior night. Montreat came out on fire in game 1, and caused the Lions to have to play catch up throughout the early games. Bryan lost a hard-fought match in four, with scores of 21-30, 25-30, 33-31, 28-30. "The emotion of senior night always causes a surge of emotion for the home team, and we did not handle it well. We also did not handle the pressure well, knowing that our season might be on the line," commented Coach Sayles.
The Lions settled down in game 2 and stayed close, then took control of game 3, building a 6 point lead. Montreat had a late charge, and the Lions had to fight to put the game away. The Lions led throughout most of game 4, and appeared ready to go to game 5, leading 28-25, when Montreat mounted a solid challenge. Tied at 28-all, Bryan dropped two golden opportunities to put the game away when they missed key serves, and Montreat escaped with a 30-28 win.
Humphrey and Barlow were joined by Robin Renfroe in leading a solid offensive attack for Bryan. Humphrey finished with an outstanding 20 kills and 20 digs. Barlow tallied 25 kills and 11 digs, while Renfroe had her best showing of the season, with 16 kills, 14 digs and 6 blocks.
The Lions had to wait for a phone call Saturday night to learn their tournament fate. While eating dinner on the return trip from Montreat, Coach Sayles received word that Brevard topped Covenant in three to take the conference regular season championship and to lock Bryan's position on the 8th and final playoff spot. "Sometimes, we all need a little help from our friends," commented a relieved Sayles.
The Lions (6-14), will travel back to Brevard to play the conference champions on Friday at 9 a.m.