Freshman outside hitter Jennifer Brandt’s 10-plus kills in all three matches were not enough to sweep in the Residence Inn-Kensaw Great 8 Volleyball Challenge.The Lady Colonels fell in the last match of the tournament 3-2 against the Owls of Kensaw State.
The Owls took the first set to the Lady Colonels hitting .448 as a team. However, the Lady Colonels rallied back in the second set with the help of senior outside hitter Rachel Spreen, who hit .429 without recording an error.
The Owls took the third set with a score of 25-25, the same score that defeated the Lady Colonels in the first set.
With the help of Brandt’s consecutive double-digit performance, the Lady Colonels took the fourth set from the Owls with a score of 25-16.
However, Brandt’s .400 hitting average, as well as the six tied scores throughout the game, were not enough for the Lady Colonels to add another win to their record, falling with a score of 15-12.
“We did some great things at the right times, and we did some questionable things at the worst times,” head coach Chris Laird said. “But we played a good team in Kennesaw State. That was a good match for us. We had four freshmen on the floor at certain times. We were disappointed with the loss, but we still feel pretty good with the overall effort and performance today.”
The Lady Colonels began their day with a win against the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M 3-1.
The Bulldogs aided the Lady Colonels’ win with a total of 24 errors in the match, while the Lady Colonels recorded eight blocks.
The Lady Colonels overtook the Bulldogs with the scores 25-22, 25-15 and 25-18 in the first, third and fourth sets, respectively.
The Lady Colonels’ 12 attack errors in the second set allowed the Bulldogs to take the set with a score of 25-22.
“Today was a good day for us, even though we finished 1-1,” Laird said. “We made strides as a team.”
The Lady Colonels recorded their first win of the season in Friday’s match against the Rider Broncs in a 3-0 victory.
The Lady Colonels took the first set 25-22 with rocky play. They hit .192 as a team but used Rider’s 13 errors to aid in the win.
The Lady Colonels capitalized in the second set winning 25-13 with Brandt and sophomore right-side hitter Rachel Yezak leading the team in the set.
Brandt set the tone, hitting .833 individually and recording five kills, while Yezak recorded two kills and aided in both Lady Colonels’ blocks.
“We played great in the second set. We really looked good,” Laird said. “I was very impressed with how hard we worked in the second set after coming out a little flat and slow in the first set. Even though we won the first, our second set was the best.”
The third set was down to the wire, with the Lady Colonels prevailing 29-27 due to the game-winning block by senior setter Amy Whitehead and freshman middle blocker Jasmine Harris.
The third set was filled with 14 ties and five lead changes, making it anyone’s game to win or lose, with the Lady Colonels taking the victory and the Rider Broncs adding a loss to their record.
“In the third, we had a few different lineup changes and tried to get some different people involved, and I felt they did a great job,” Laird said.
Standout players in the match were Brandt, Yezak and senior middle blocker Amy Beshir. Brandt ended the match with 11 kills and a personal hitting percentage of .450. Yezak and Beshir both recorded seven kills and two block assists in the match.
Standout players for the tournament were Brandt and freshman middle blocker Jessica Addicks, who were given All-Tournament honors after the last match of the weekend tournament. Addicks finished the weekend with 23 kills and 1.92 kills per set, while Brandt led the team with 37 kills and 3.08 kills per match.
The Lady Colonels will try to improve their 2-5 record when they travel to the University of South Alabama Jaguar Classic, where they will take on Jackson State on Friday and South Alabama on Saturday, when there will be a second chance against the Southern Miss. volleyball team.
