Volleyball Lions go 1-1 against the Virginia colleges.
September 27, 2004
Friday (9-24-2004) results:
Bryan College | 10 | 23 | 19 |
UVA-Wise | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Kim Barlow - 13 Kills, .448 hitting percentage.
Randi Mellon - 26 Assists, 8 Digs
Kathryn Rawley - 10 digs.
Va-Wise dominated BC in game 1, building a lead of 22-1 before Bryan could begin to rally. BC was not passing well, and was not effective attacking. I give the girls credit that they found themselves and played even over the next several points, but you cannot spot a team 20 points and have any hope of getting back into the game.
Games 2 and 3 were much closer than the scores indicate. We saw the best rallies of the season in those two games, with some outstanding kills for both sides to finish the rallies. MB Kim Barlow kept us in the final two games with a very solid hitting performance, and we actually served very effectively. Considering the superior athleticism of VA-Wise, I did not leave the match feeling we had done poorly. The bad start just really took our best opportunity to be in the match. Wise tasted victory early, and refused to let up. I can see why many of the veteran coaches voted them as one of the top teams in the preseason poll.
Saturday (9-25-2004) results:
Bryan College | 31 | 30 | 30 |
Bluefield | 29 | 21 | 22 |
Kim Barlow - 10 Kills, 2 Solo Blocks, 2 Block assists.
Rebecca Rusch - 12 Kills.
Randi Mellon - 27 Assists, 1 service ace.
Christine Pratt 13 digs, 22-22 serve receptions.
Bluefield gave us a tough game in game one. We held a 3 point lead most of the match, but stalled at 28, allowing Bluefield to take the lead, 29-28, but the Lady Lions showed some resilience, and found 2 points left in their tank to pull ahead 31-29. Games 2 and 3 were fully in our control. We do not have that fire to put a team away, though, and what could have easily been two 15 point victories in games two and three appear much closer in the box score. We were able to reach several of the statistical goals we like to see in our matches. Libero Christine Pratt played an outstanding game, and was perfect with her serve receptions. We had several remarkable saves that I thought were going to be definite points for Bluefield. I believe we are starting to find an identity as a team. Now we must sustain it, and find a way to play a full match healthy. Senior Catherine Strode is still sidelined until next week, and Freshman Leah White was removed early in game 1 with back problems. Hopefully, we can be healthy for our Tuesday game against Tennessee Wesleyan, and our big Homecoming match Friday against cross-town rival Covenant.