NASHVILLE – The Trevecca Nazarene University volleyball team returned home after a tough trip south in Gulf South Athletic Conference action last week. Trevecca dropped two of the three matches on the trip, and they were looking to take advantage of being back home to get things back on track.
Trevecca (10-11, 7-4 GSC) got off to a great start, but they let the first set slip through their fingers, and it helped lead to a four-set defeat against the Blazers of Valdosta State University (12-10, 6-4 GSC) at the Trojan Fieldhouse.
SERIES HISTORY
Valdosta State has now won five of the six matches in series history, all of which have been played with the teams as members of the GSC. The Blazers are now 2-1 against the Trojans in Nashville, and all three meetings in Valdosta.
MATCH RECAP
Trevecca opened on an 8-2 run in the first set, and Katilyn Grant was a key factor in the start. The senior from Alabaster, Alabama blasted three kills as a part of the run, but the momentum was answered immediately by the Blazers. VSU quickly cut the deficit to one with a 6-1 run, and the match took on a bit of a yo-yo feel.
Trevecca opened a modest lead several times, but each time Valdosta State pulled the Trojans back in. A kill from Jordan Hunt gave Trevecca a 22-18 lead late, but Valdosta answered with a 4-0 run to knot the score at 22-22 - the first tie score since 1-1 early in the set. Trevecca scored two straight points to get a pair of set point opportunities, but VSU ended the set with four straight kills to take the stanza 26-24.
Trevecca scored seven of the first nine points in set two, and this time, the Trojans made it stick. Trevecca never led by fewer than three points the rest of the set, as they took advantage of 10 Valdosta State attack errors. Each team had 11 kills in the frame, and the Trojans hit .242 compared to just .029 for the Blazers, and the Trojans won the set 25-16.
In the pivotal third stanza, the teams battled closely early on. Emma Schnitzer had two kills, Isabella Sherrod added a kill, and Zoie Elrod belted an ace in the first eight points, but the score was knotted at 4-4. The second kill from Schnitzer led to a 4-0 run that pushed Trevecca out to a 7-4 lead, but they were unable to put much distance between themselves and the Blazers, and VSU took advantage.
With Trevecca leading 9-7, the Blazers found another gear. The Blazers put together a 16-2 run with seven kills as they took a 23-11 lead. The Blazers attacked the ball at a .244 clip in the frame, and this time it was 10 Trevecca attack errors that helped the Blazers take the set 25-14 to take the 2-1 lead in the match.
Sherrod recorded a kill to open the fourth frame, but VSU answered with six straight points - four of them on kills - to take a 6-1 lead. Trevecca battled back, though, closing to within a single point at 8-7, and again at 15-14 before they were able to use a 6-1 run to take the 21-20 lead with a kill from Hunt providing the final point in that stretch. From there, though, Trevecca was unable to score again, as VSU won the final five points to take the set 25-21, and the match 3-1
TROJAN HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
Trevecca will play host to the Auburn University Montgomery Warhawks (2-19, 0-10 GSC) on Saturday to close the brief 2-match homestand before they take their final GSC road trip of the season. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
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