WINCHESTER, Va. — Averett University women's volleyball lost its road match 3-2 against Shenandoah University in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
Averett (4-15, 1-8 ODAC) battled Shenandoah (9-7, 5-2 ODAC) to the wire in the five set loss with the sets falling: 25-27, 25-27, 25-21, 25-16, and 15-9.
Averett got off of the bus ready to go, taking a thrilling Set 1 victory over Shenandoah. The Hornets took Averett to the very edge, leading 24-22 and on the brink of taking the set, before Averett rallied back with kills from juniors
Allie Wilkerson,
Sydney Mounce and senior
Rachel Green that pushed Averett out to the 1-0 lead.
The Hornets home fans were treated to more extra volleyball in Set 2, and may have had a sense of Deja vu as the set reached its conclusion. Averett once again had its back to the wall, down 24-22, but fought all the way back with a kill and an ace from Mounce, capped off by a block from juniors
Tahani Villines and Wilkerson to slam the door shut on another 27-25 set win.
Averett roared into Set 3, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Shenandoah. The Cougars strung together nine consecutive points, with sophomore
Kyleigh Rains dealing two aces in the sequence, to push Averett to a 10-5 lead. The Hornets managed to claw all the way back, taking the third set in spite of Averett's early outburst.
Set 4 kicked off with a run of back and forth action. Neither team found much separation early, but Shenandoah pulled away and forced the game into a decisive fifth set.
The Cougars started the final set with momentum, speeding out to a 4-0 lead. Shenandoah, as was the theme of the night, stayed in the game and drew back even at 5-5. Averett controlled the next few points, reaching an 8-5 lead as the teams swapped ends of the court. Shenandoah roared back one final time, and this time Averett could not stave off the Hornets attack, as Shenandoah closed out the set and the match with a reverse sweep of the Cougars.
Villines led Averett's attack with 11 high flying kills, many of which set up by senior
Dayton Moore, whose 18 assists led the Cougars. Rains continued to impress in her libero role, commanding Averett's defensive efforts with 13 digs in the match, while Villines led with 17.
It's a quick turn around for Averett, as the team is right back in action for a date with Eastern Mennonite University at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18.
