Volleyball goes 1-2 in Bristol
The Bryan College Volleyball team went 1-2 during a tough weekend sweep in Bristol and Johnson City, TN.
After a grueling 5-game win against Union on Thursday, the Lions traveled to Virginia Intermont College on Friday night. The Lady Lions gutted out a second 5-game victory ( 30-21, 19-30, 29-31, 30-28, 15-8) against another evenly-matched VIC team.
The first two games were momentum runs, with Bryan seizing control of the first game, only to see VIC take it back in the second. Games 3 and 4 were closely-fought, with neither team seeming able to gain the advantage. After falling behind 2-1 in the match, the Lions gutted out a tough game four.
There was a break in the middle of the action due to an injury to Jess Forsyth of VIC. The Lions were able to take a 3-point lead, and held on to win game 4. The Lions seized an early lead in game 5, and were able to finish strong for an impressive 3-2 win. Abby Humphrey had a tremendous match, with another double-double (22 kills, 12 digs, .409 hitting). Kathryn Rawley dished 40 assists with 7 digs. Kim Barlow finished with 10 kills as well.
Saturday morning, the Lions faced conference leader King College. King, which boasts a perfect record in the early season, did not leave any space for error with their disciplined style of play. The Lions were never in the match, losing 3-0 ( 18-30, 13-30, 22-30) “I don’t think we mentally were prepared for our morning match,” commented Coach Sayles. “This was probably our poorest effort of the season. We could say that we were drained by our back-to-back 5-game matches, but I just think the team went in to the match without a real belief that they could beat King. We basically handed the match over from the first serve.”
Saturday afternoon, the Lions traveled to Milligan College, winners of two back-to-back 5-game matches over Covenant and Tennessee Wesleyan. The two teams played a hard-fought match, with momentum shifting throughout the game. The Lions fell just short with another 5-game match ( 30-22, 17-30, 30-19, 28-30, 12-15).
Games 1, 2, and 3 were equally controlled by Bryan and Milligan. In game three, the Lions appeared ready to run away with the match after building a 12-point lead, behind five blocks in a row by Kim Barlow, Leah White, Laura Dickey, and Abby Humphrey. The Buffaloes were stuffed, and unable to run their offense effectively.
Both teams battled throughout game four, with neither team able to separate from the other until Milligan built a little space at 22-20. The teams traded points, but Milligan was able to maintain its lead and win the game.
The Buffaloes continued their momentum swing in the beginning of game 5, building a quick 8-3 lead. Not to be outdone, the Lions fought valiantly to close to within 2 at 14-12, but gave up a final kill to Milligan to lose in 5.
Kim Barlow finished with a game-high 17 kills, 4 solo blocks, and 6 block assists.Abby Humphrey narrowly missed her 6th double-double of the season (13 kills, 9 digs). Kathryn Rawley did attain another double-double with 40 assists and 14 digs.
Coach Sayles commented after the game, “I am not upset about this game, other than the fact that we hate to lose. Both teams had clearly established momentum at different points of the match. We played flawlessly for a big stretch in games 1 and 3, and Milligan did the same in game 2. Game 4 was simply the way volleyball should be played…big swings, gutsy rallies, and fierce competition. We had a little let-down going into game 5, and gave up a quick 4-point run early. I have told the players several times that the team who sustains the first big run in Game 5 usually comes away with a win…because there is just not room available to side-out back and forth when you win at 15 in rally scoring.
"We gave up the run, and could not sustain a run of our own quickly enough to overcome it. We went 2-2 in four days with three 5-game matches. That is tough to do…we just have to keep improving a little bit in each area, and we will be a very different team in the second half of the season.”
The Lady Lions are at home Monday, Sept. 19 against Shorter College, then travel to Reinhardt College on Wednesday, Sept. 21 before returning to conference competition at UVA-Wise and Bluefield next weekend.