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CLEVELAND, Ga. – A narrow set-five win finalized the biggest win of the season for Truett McConnell women's volleyball (13-4, 3-0 AAC) in a thrilling 3-2 win (25-20, 25-19, 26-28, 12-25, 17-15) over Brenau (9-4, 2-2 AAC) Friday night.
 
"I told the girls today to play their best and they did that," head coach Joe Herrera said. "These girls are playing for God and they're playing for each other."
 
Anna Forbus led the way for the Lady Bears with 14 kills and a staggering 8.0 total blocks through five sets, both of which are career-highs for the second-year product from Greenwood, Arkansas.
 
"It's a great win for the team," Forbus said. "The Lord has been so gracious to this program and nothing we do can be done without Him."
 
Other notable stats from the night include 22 assists from Caroline Yeager and 17 digs from Julia Fisher, both season high for the athletes.
 
In the first set, it was the Tigers who started off hot, posting a 7-4 set lead. TMU powered a 7-1 scoring run to jump ahead by three, forcing a Brenau timeout.
 
Another 7-2 run helped by two aces by Yeager put the Lady Bears further ahead with an 18-12 score. The Tigers narrowed the gap the four points late in the set, but a final kill by Forbus ended the set, resulting in a 1-0 match lead.
 
Brenau responded with a 6-1 start in set two but six unanswered points by the home team put it ahead by one. With Fisher on the serve, the Lady Bears collected five in a row to increase the lead to five. TMU held Brenau to a distance of at least five points for the rest of the set and captured a 2-0 score in the match.
 
"When we have fun is when we do our best," sophomore Emily Reynolds said. "We have the girls that can uplift each other and keep glorifying God through all of our actions."
 
Truett seemed to be on the way to a set three win with a lead of 17-13, but a 5-1 run by the Tigers tied the set at 18-18. The two teams battled through the rest of the set with six lead changes and five tied scores, but the away team pulled through in the end, using two kills to force a fourth set.
 
The next set was all Tigers. With a 14-9 score, Brenau used a combined 11-3 scoring run to run away with the set, drawing momentum on its side and forcing a winner-take-all fifth set with a 2-2 tie.
 
The Tigers carried the momentum into the set with leads of 5-1 and 8-3, but Truett McConnell kept fighting back, powering a 7-2 scoring run to tie the set at 10-10. Brenau held the set at match point with a 14-13 lead, but two kills by Forbus and Fisher swung momentum the other way. After a Tiger kill, a kill by Faith Clakrson and a block by Elizabeth Cook sealed the deal, resulting in the five-set victory.  
 
"It was amazing to see these girls come together and fight." Herrera said. "As a coach it makes me proud."
 
The Lady Bears are back on the court tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. match scheduled vs. Reinhardt at the Harris Athletic Complex.