Volleyball goes 2-1: Renfroe is AAC Player of the Week
The Lady Lions were able to keep their hold on the #2 spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference by going 2-1 in crucial conference competition over the weekend.
With a defeat of Virginia Intermont, the Lions hold the tie-breaker should the two finish tied for 2nd. The Lions moved up a spot in this week's NAIA Region XII ranking to #4, the highest late-season ranking since 2002. Bryan's Robin Renfroe also became the first Volleyball player in Bryan history to be named AAC Conference Player of the week 3 consecutive weeks for her efforts last week.
Bryan spoiled host Milligan College's Senior Night on Friday by sweeping their match in 3 (32-30, 30-25, 30-27). Led by Renfroe's 16 kills, the Lions held off the scrappy Lady Buffs in a close first game, then built a solid lead in game 2. The Buffs took the early lead in game three, but the Lions kept the score close. After tying the match at 20, Milligan took another lead 22-20. Robin Renfroe closed the gap with 2 of her eight kills in the third game, and Kaylin Carswell came up with a crucial block to put the Lions up. Jenny Loveday finished the match with an ace. Renfroe contributed on 3 blocks, and Kathryn Rawley recorded 25 digs on the night. Setters Jenny Loveday and Hannah Suits each tallied 23 assists.
After sweeping Milligan on Friday, the Lady Lions hoped to continue their winning ways against King on Saturday morning. The AAC #1 King squared off against the Lions, currently ranked #2, and waged a classic battle. Both teams demonstrated why they are the two top teams in the conference. After 5 grueling games, King emerged on top and preserved its undefeated conference record, but Bryan had the Tornado sweating. Scores were 31-33, 26-30, 30-28, 30-28, 10-15.
The two teams battled into extra points in game one, and King appeared ready to run away with game 2 before a late rally closed the gap. The Lions, with their backs against the wall, stayed confident and played consistant ball to stay just ahead in games three and four. However, the Tornado quickly built a 6-point lead in the fifth game, and increased it to 11-3 before the Lions could mount any attack. The lead was too much for the Lions, although they fought valiantly to close the gap to 5 before the final point. The loss spoiled the Lions 8-game win streak and temporarily put them in third place behind Virginia Intermont College.
The Lions squared off against VIC in their afternoon match, and came out on top 3-1 in a see-saw battle (30-25, 15-30, 30-28, 30-15).
The Lions took control of game one, but completely stalled in the second. Eleven unforced hitting errors and several ball-handling errors kept the Lions from attacking. Game three was tight throughout. The Lions fell behind 9-4 when Bryan's Coach Sayles made a strategic move, switching from a 6-2 offense into a 5-1. The move gave the Lions a little momentum, and they caught VIC at 13. Settling back into their normal offensive set, the Lions seemed to gain confidence and power throughout the game, and cranked in game four. The aggressive serving and hitting unnerved VIC, and allowed the Lions to run away with the match. The win again placed the Lions firmly in second place in the AAC, with two home matches remaining in the regular season.
"We set out with hopes of sweeping all three matches this weekend and came within 5 points of doing so," commented Coach Sayles. Although we lost a great match to King, I think we gained an important moral victory, and believe we may have the upper hand the next time we see them. Our girls have gained confidence and know they can play any team in our conference. I saw some of the best play I have seen in this program, and believe we are still improving. Hopefully, we can maintain our confidence through two tough home matches and come out on top this week."
Robin Renfroe was strong offensively and defensively for the Lions. The middle hitter finished with 44 kills for the weekend, and 15 total blocks in the Lions' three matches. Jennifer Loveday and Hannah Suits were very even in their assists, totalling 82 and 84 respectively. Their stats displayed the balanced offensive attack for the Lions all weekend. No one player dominated, but the team saw very even distribution of attempts and kills. Abby Humphrey had a strong all-around performance, finishing with 37 kills and 45 digs on the weekend. Kathryn Rawley was very strong in her role as libero, tallying 70 digs, 113 passes with only 4 errors, and a perfect 49 serves for the weekend. Abby Humphrey finished the weekend with 43 kills and 12 blocks. Gabrielle Claxton was a strong contributor as well, finishing with 27 kills and 12 blocks.
The Lions, now 23-9 overall and 13-3 in the AAC, host AAC #4 Union College Tuesday at 7 p.m., followed by AAC #5 Montreat College Saturday, Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m.