MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a decisive fifth set, but visiting Montevallo claimed a five-set win Saturday at Canale Arena.
Montevallo 3, CBU 2 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Falcons (12-1, 3-0 GSC) hit .300 in winning an opening set that saw no leads of more than four points. After CBU (6-8, 1-2) scored three straight, including back-to-back aces by
Blythe Clausen (Hendersonville, Tenn./Pope John Paul II HS), to tie the set at 21, the Falcons scored three straight, two on blocks, to take a 24-21 edge. CBU closed within a point at 24-23 before the Falcons scored set point on a kill.
• The Lady Bucs built early leads of 3-1 and 11-5 in the second set, the latter on an
Alexa Henderson (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie HS) kill. After the Falcons drew within 14-12, an
Emma Lenoir (Chattanooga, Tenn./East Hamilton HS) kill capped a three-point burst that built the lead back to 17-12. Montevallo came within a point three times before a
Mollie Wadsworth (Hernando, Miss./Northpoint Christian HS) block restored their lead to 22-19. Montevallo, however, closed the set with six straight points, including two by aces, as they won 25-22.
• CBU used a five-point burst capped by a double-block by Wadsworth and
Gennah Schoen (Portland, Ore./David Douglas HS) to take a 10-7 edge in the third set. They broke a later 16-all tie with three straight points, including another Wadsworth-Schoen double-block, to take the lead for good, pulling away for a 25-21 win to stay alive.
• The Lady Bucs hit .277 as they jumped to early leads of 7-3, 10-5 and 14-7 in the fourth set before a six-point Montevallo run cut the lead to 14-13. Three consecutive Lenoir kills broke a 15-all tie and gave CBU an 18-15 edge, but the set would be tied again three more times, including at 23-23. Kills by
Miaya Smith (Memphis, Tenn./St. George's Independent School) and Lenoir broke the tie and gave CBU a 25-23 win to force a fifth set.
• After CBU scored the first two points of the fifth set, Montevallo used three three-point runs to take a 9-5 edge. The Lady Bucs came within 10-9, but Montevallo outscored them 5-2 the rest of the way to clinch the win on back-to-back Evelina Teran kills.
KEY STATS:
•
Miaya Smith (Memphis, Tenn./St. George's Independent School) hit .419 with 17 kills and three blocks for a team-high 18.5 points.
• Lenoir had 16 kills and 11 digs, scoring 17.5 points.
• Wadsworth finished with 10 kills and five blocks for 13 points.
• Schoen logged seven kills with six blocks.
•
Joze Smith (Atoka, Tenn./Tipton-Rosemark Academy) had 25 digs and eight assists.
• Henderson dished out 36 assist with 17 digs and three kills.
• Clausen notched 15 digs with two aces.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lady Bucs hit the road Thursday night for a 6 p.m. match at West Alabama. Their next home match is Saturday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m. as they host Mississippi College.
