ATLANTA - Centre volleyball opened play in the Southern Athletic Association Tournament with an opening round matchup against the no. 4 seed Sewanee Tigers. Behind an outstanding defensive performance, the Colonels advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The opening set belonged to the Tigers, who got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 13-6 lead. The Colonels could get no closer than two points the rest of the way and Sewanee went ahead in the match with a 25-19 victory.
- The score was much closer in the second set as it featured multiple lead changes and eight ties. Trailing 16-15, the Colonels scored six of the next seven points to pull away from Sewanee, with
Mack Turner delivering the clinching kill on a 25-19 win for Centre.
- An early 6-0 run by the Colonels set the tone in the third set and gave Centre a lead that stuck. Sewanee cut the margin to a single point, but Centre responded with another 6-0 rally that featured four kills from
Kendra Christopher to go ahead for good. A kill by
Maya Kondik put the finishing touches on the 25-16 win that put Centre up 2-1 in the match.
- In the fourth set, Sewanee held a small lead for most of the set, still maintaining the lead at 21-20 before Centre began their final push. An ace by
Abby Swartz put Centre on top 22-21 and kills from Kondik and Christopher ended it with consecutive kills to give the Colonels the 25-22 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Christopher had the game of her life as she finished with a career high and game high 17 kills.
Syd Bietz finished with 11 kills.
- The Colonels held a massive 72-58 advantage in digs as
Emersyn Pannell led all players with 22. Bietz capped off a double-double with 11 digs.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will play top seeded Trinity in the semifinal round of the SAA Tournament on Friday.
