MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Spalding University volleyball team picked up a set win, but Sewanee: The University of the South came out with the 3-1 win at the MC Labor Day Classic.
The 14-25, 25-21, 16-25, 18-25 setback moved SU to 0-1 and pushed the Tigers to 4-0.
TURNING POINT
The first set started out rough for the Golden Eagles. After a 1-1 tie, three consecutive errors put SU behind. A
Jayda Branch kill, assisted by
Ella Clark, stopped the streak for Sewanee. Shortly after, the Tigers went on a 10-1 run to take a 16-3 lead. Spalding rallied back later in the set with a 6-1 run, bringing the score to 22-12, but Sewannee went on to take the set 25-14.
The second frame fared much better for the Golden Eagles. A 9-1 run at the 11-9 mark flipped the lead to SU. The run featured two kills from Branch and two more from
Kayla Dunican, two assisted blocks from
Halle Calbert and
Jordyn Sarver, and two service aces from Branch. The lead held for Spalding in the 25-21 set win.
Both teams exchanged back-to-back points at the start of set three. Four ties came in the early stages of the frame. Unfortunately for Spalding, the Tigers took the lead at the 6-5 point and never surrendered it. The Golden Eagles came within one point four more times but fell 25-16.
In a pivotal set four, the game was close most of the time. A Branch kill started the game's scoring. The final set of the match had nine ties and five lead changes. Back-to-back kills gave Spalding a 15-14 lead, but Sewanee notched five-straight points to gain a lead they held on to the rest of the frame. A 25-18 final score secured the set and the match for the Tigers.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
- Jayda Branch led the Golden Eagle effort in kills with 14 and secured a double-double with 14 digs.
- Kayla Dunican had an impressive offensive outing with seven kills and no attacking errors, leading to a .438 hitting percentage.
- Setter Ella Clark had 20 assists for Spalding.
- The Golden Eagles had eight aces to Sewanee's five.
NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding volleyball has two games left at the MC Labor Day Classic on Sunday. The Golden Eagles face Huntingdon College at 11 a.m. and host Maryville College at 1 p.m.
