MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Aug. 24, 2019) – The Truett McConnell University women's volleyball team opened up their 2019 season at the Faulkner University Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Bears went 1-3 on the weekend against a competitive field. TMU lost in three against the University of Mobile (Ala.) and William Carey University (Miss.) on Friday but split day two defeating Faulkner University in five and losing in three tight sets against Southeastern University.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"The team struggled to get going on Friday, but finished with two strong matches on Saturday," Head Coach Mark Corbin said. "We fought hard on Friday and came up just short in several sets. On Saturday the girls came in focused to learn from Friday's mistakes. With a big play from our middle blockers, Harris Anne Walker and Madison Curtis, we were able to pull off a victory over Faulkner on their home court.
Against Southeastern, the girls continued right where they left off. Southeastern has always been tough competition and the girls came out to fight. Overall we are coming away from this weekend realizing we can play with the best of the teams in the NAIA. This was a good test for us to compare ourselves to other NAIA teams. With conference play coming up, this was a great way for us to prepare for the teams we will face."
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE (19-25, 19-25, 19-25)
Game one was the tightest race of the match as both teams went head to head all the way until the Rams went on a 5-0 run to claim the first win after the set was tied 10 times. The Rams carried over their momentum into the second set earning the first four points and pushing leads as big as 10 points and the Lady Bears were never able to fully recover. Mobile secured their victory in the third set after earning an early lead and never allowing TMU to come from behind.
Walker led the Lady Bears offensively compiling a total of seven kills while Curtis and sophomore Bethany Ross tallied six kills apiece. Freshman Audrey Henderson added four kills. Junior Abby Maxwell led with 16 assists and 13 digs while Henderson and Ross followed with six digs apiece.
WILLIAM CAREY (23-25, 24-26, 13-25)
The Lady Bears started out strong in the first leading by as much as six (11-5) but the Lady Crusaders took the lead at 22-23 and won the set with a kill. The second set was the most competitive with a tied game at 24-24 but it was William Carey who came out on top. The Lady Crusaders carried over their momentum to win the third set by a large margin.
Curtis led the way with eight kills while freshman Ranavia Neal, Walker and Ross all recorded five. Maxwell was credited 26 assists while Ross compiled 13 digs and Abby Mumpower recorded 10.
FAULKNER UNIVERSITY (21-25, 26-24, 25-14, 15-25, 15-10)
A Ross kill tied the game back up at 19 apiece and a Maxwell kill put the Lady Bears out front 21-20 in game one but the Eagles responded a 4-0 run to take game one. The second set saw both teams trading back and forth leads, however, two straight kills by TMU's freshman right side, Neal, earned the Lady Bears' first win of the match. The Lady Bears went on to pick up the pace after taking the lead (12-11) in game three. Two straight aces and two straight kills put TMU further out front (16-11) and Faulkner was never able to fully recover as they were allowed only three more points. Faulkner sought revenge by taking the third set by 10 points but it was ultimately the Lady Bears who rose to the occasion in the final set. Despite an early 3-0 deficit, TMU went on a 5-0 run and did not allow the Lady Crusaders to get back out front the rest of the way.
Three Lady Bears recorded double digit kills led by Ross and Curtis with 13 apiece and Neal with 10. Neal also added three block assists. Walker added nine while Neal added seven. Maxwell was credited 41 assists and compiled a total of 20 digs while Lee led with 22 digs. Ross added 15 digs.
SOUTHEASTERN (25-27, 21-25, 27-29)
The Lady Bears led by as many as six (13-7) but the Fire came in from behind at 15-15 and it was back and forth from there. Two kills at the right time ultimately proved to be the difference in the end when Southeastern took the win in game one in extra points. Set two was tight with neither team leading by no more than two until Southeastern got hot pushing a lead as big as eight. Game three was the heartbreaker as both teams were within one point of each other from 16-16 on but two kills ultimately proved to be the difference once again in the end.
Ross led in kills with 13 while Walker followed with nine and Curtis racked up seven. Maxwell led with 34 assists and 17 digs alongside Lee's 17 digs. Ross added 11 digs and Abby Mumpower added 10.
UP NEXT
The Lady Bears are back on the road for one more scrimmage on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Oglethorpe University but will face Ferrum College and Pfeiffer University on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., for more regular season play. TMU's home opener will be on Thursday, Sept. 5, against Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Columbia International University.
