Lady Lions come from behind for 5-game victory
The Lady Lions of Bryan College came from down 2-1 to defeat visiting Union College in 5 games (29-31, 30-26, 23-30, 30-18, 15-9) at Summers Gymnasium. The Lions returned to action 2 days after the funeral for former Bryan baseball player Brett Williams.
The Lions fought point for point with Union, and had a chance to put the game away at 29-27, but the Bulldogs fought back, tying the game at 29, then winning with a block of Abby Humphrey, 31-29. Game two was another closely fought game, with Bryan maintaining the lead throughout most of the game. Service errors kept the Lions from capitalizing early in game three, and they found themselves trying to fight from behind, but a short spurt at the end of the game closed the gap to within 7, and gave the Lions momentum going into game four. The Lions seized control, building leads of 6-2 and 15-9, when Freshman OH Kaylin Carswell took control at the back line and served up 5 big service points in a row, giving the lions a 22-11 lead, which they never relinquished.
Sensing that the momentum had fully swung in their favor, the Lions build a 7-2 lead in game four, off two kills by OH Abby Humphrey and a block by MB Laura Dickey. Union closed the gap to one at 9-8, but the Lions produced another run behind the serving and setting of Kathryn Rawley, leading at 14-8. The Lions won the match on a hitting error by Union.
Abby Humphrey led the Lions with her fourth double-double of the season, 19 kills and 22 digs. Team captain Kim Barlow gave a strong effort in the middle, contributing 18 kills and 3 blocks. Setter Kathryn Rawley dished 43 sets, her career high. Carswell was perfect through 42 serves, with 29 service points.
Commented Coach Sayles: "This was an important win for us. We needed to change our direction after our rough start to the year, and after the death of Brett Williams over the weekend. I gave the girls time off on Tuesday, and President Livesay came in and gave us a heart-felt devotion on Wednesday as we began to pick up and start over again. I don't know what the rest of the season holds for us, but we can learn a lot from this match. It is always a dog-fight when we play Union. We lost to them twice in 5 last season, so this was sweet. it was also a great match to watch, regardless of who you were cheering for. Our male rooting section was tremendous, and our fans were supportive, helping us dig out a hard fought win."
The Lions (1-3, 3-9) travel to the Bristol area for conference matches against Virginia Intermont College, King College, and Milligan College this weekend.