Volleyball upset bid stopped at AAC Tourney

The Lady Lions' upset bid against #1 seed Brevard was repelled by the Tornadoes Nov. 10, in the first round at the AAC tournament, hosted by Brevard.  The Lady Lions volleyball team put forth their best effort of the season, but couldn't muster up the momentum to overcome Brevard, losing in 4 closely contested games (26-30, 30-22, 28-30, 23-30).

The Lions fell behind early in game 1, and could not draw closer than 4 points throughout the game, eventually losing 26-30 despite a late surge.  The ladies carried the momentum from that late surge into the second game, seizing control and holding fast behind great team effort.

In game three, the Lions appeared to rattle the Tornadoes, but three missed serves in a row kept them from building any separation, and the game remained tied until Brevard was able to put away a kill off the Lions' serve, and held serve to win 30-28.  The loss in the third game affected the Lions, who appeared to play a little more desperately in game four, despite keeping the game close.  With the game at 21-all, Brevard's offensive tactics began to wear down the Lions' defense, and the team could not recover, giving up a 4-point run at the end of the match.

After the match, Coach Sayles commented, "I am proud of the way this team bounced back to play tough after a long, disappointing season.  We knew we had nothing to lose, and had a solid game plan going into the match.  The team played the way I envisioned us playing all season, and I am so glad to see we finally reached that mark before the end.  I said early on that the season could not be defined by our win-loss record, because of all the outside situations that affected us all.  I hope the seniors will carry that fact with them, and that the underclassmen will see their improvement as a sign of good things go come."

Senior Kim Barlow finished her career with 19 kills, 10 digs, and 4 blocks. Abby Humphrey finished with 12 kills, 15 digs, and 3 assisted blocks. Robin Renfroe tallied 14 kills, 16 digs, and 4 combined blocks. Setter Kathryn Rawley finished with 44 assists and 15 digs.