Lady Lions avenge early season loss to the Visiting Scots
It wasn’t pretty, but the Lady Lions pulled out a gutsy win against visiting AAC rival Covenant Tuesday night, 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-23).
Both teams struggled offensively during the match, but Bryan was able to put together key runs in the second and third games to come out with the win.
The Lions took control of game 1, and were able to maintain their early lead down the stretch, despite 9 hitting errors.
The Scots came out aggressively in game 2, seizing momentum early, only to have the Lions regain the lead at 14. Covenant kept their composure and began to build a solid lead, seeming in control of the game when Bryan’s Coach Leo Sayles called time-out with his team down 23-27. The Lions sided out, then mounted a run of their own behind 5 service points by Jackie Holubz. With the score 29-27, the Lions lost serve, but were able to win game point with a kill.
The Lions kept momentum in game three, taking control after a tie at 4-4, and never looked back. Robin Renfroe, Laura Dickey, Kim Barlow, and Abby Humphrey controlled the front line with 8 combined blocks and 15 kills to lead the run. 
“Before the game, I wrote a statement on the board in the locker room. It said, “Champions don’t play perfect. Champions win games,’” commented Coach Sayles. “I challenged the team to win whether it was pretty, ugly, perfect, or imperfect. They did just that. We really struggled early with our hitting, and put a lot of balls in the net. Yet again, they displayed a lot of poise…down by 4 in the second game and knowing that they were not hitting well, they settled down and pulled it out, then began to show the type of competitive spirit I have been waiting to see as they took game 3 start to finish.”
The return of freshmen Robin Renfroe and Rachel Meek to Bryan’s lineup gave them the extra depth they needed to make the necessary adjustment to win the match.
Bryan’s Kim Barlow led the offense with 15 kills, 9 digs, and 2 blocks. Abby Humphrey gave a strong all-around game with 11 kills and 11 digs. Kathryn Rawley contributed 40 assists and 12 digs. Bryan’s strength in the match was its clutch blocking, led by Renfroe (7 solo or assisted blocks, 9 kills) and sophomore Laura Dickey (4 solo blocks, 1 assisted, 6 kills). Bryan, now 5-6 in conference (10-12 overall) next faces UVA-Wise at home on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. 