[Volleyball] Volleyball goes 2-2 at Milligan Mountain Madness

MILLIGAN, Tenn. – The Knights finished 2-2 in the Milligan Mountain Madness after competing against tough NAIA competition. Although the Knights dropped both games on Friday, they earned two hard-fought matches in five sets on Saturday.

SAU 0 WILLIAM CAREY 3

St. Andrews kicked off their tournament play facing William Carey University, dropping the match in three sets (26-24, 25-17, 25-19).

The first set was very close, with SAU leading by 5 points before the Lady Crusaders rallied back to create a 24-all match. William Carey earned the set win after a kill and service ace against the Knights.

The second and third sets were dominated by William Carey, with scores of 25-17 and 25-19.

The Knights recorded 33 kills against the Lady Crusaders with a .095 hitting percentage after struggling with 23 attack errors.

Shalia Powell (SR/Dayton, NV) collected a solo block for the Knights and 12 assists, while freshman Jada Reed (FR/Atlanta, GA) and Kylie Winchell (JR/Morehead City, NC) led with 6 kills.

SAU 0 KU 3

The Knights faced the Skyhawks of Keiser University in the second match of the day on Friday, continuing to compete against tough competition.

The Skyhawks took all three sets in a steady fashion, limiting the Knights to a short number of points within the sets (25-11, 25-10, 25-10).

St. Andrews recorded 10 kills, 10 assists and 17 digs compared to Keiser's .441 hitting percentage with 9 service aces.

SAU 3 BU 2

After dropping the first two opening sets to Bethel with scores of 25-15 and 25-16, the Knights fought back and won the following three sets. (25-23,25-16,16-14).

The third set was tied 17 times, with the final tie coming in at 22-all when the Knights fueled off a ball handing error by Bethel. Alex Blackwell (SR/Menifee, CA) recorded a kill for the 24th point before the Knights sealed the set win from a BU error.

St.Andrews won the fourth set with a score of 25-16, after 6 ties throughout the set. Gabby Furlong (FR/Locust Grove, GA) controlled the final points of the fourth set, serving the last five points while pressuring Bethel to three errors and collecting a service ace.

The fifth set saw the Knights go on an early run, resulting from three straight kills from freshman Makenize Befus (FR/Brighton, CO) followed by a kill from Ashley McGugan. St. Andrews controlled much of the set, winning with a score of 16-14.

SAU 3 MU 2

Both teams struggled in the first set with a SAU hitting percentage of -12.5 in comparison to Midway's 3.4. The Running Eagles collected 9 kills to top the Knights 25-19.

St. Andrews hit much better in the second set, improving to 13 kills and only 4 errors. The Knights were able to edge past Midway with a Shalia Powell kill to earn the 25-23 win.

The third set slipped through St. Andrews fingers with a 25-23 loss before bouncing back and dominating the final two sets. The Knights hit their best in the fifth set with a 28.9 hitting percentage and only one error.

Defensively, the Knights collected 69 digs in the match, led by Karina Lozada (JR/Bayamon, Puerto Rico)'s 28 digs. St. Andrews led in blocks with 9, with two solo blocks from Ashley McGugan and Kylie Winchell.

Shalia Powell was named to the All-Tournament Team, finishing the tournament with 16 kills, 91 assists, 3 service aces, and 29 digs.