Volleyball Slips Past St. Andrews in Five Sets

Gainesville, Georgia- In a thrilling five-set match, the Brenau volleyball team outlasted St. Andrews (N.C.) University (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 10-25, 15-13) in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup on Friday.

After falling in the first set, the Golden Tigers evened the match with a second set victory. Leading 19-17, Annabeth Vandiver notched two kills during a six-point run to help the home team even the score 1-1.

The visiting Knights responded in the third set by jumping out to an early 8-3 lead. However, the Golden Tigers closed the gap to 20-17 by finished the match on an 8-2 run to escape with a 25-20 victory.

In the fourth set, St. Andrews dominated play by cruising to a 25-10 victory to tie the score 2-2.

In the final set, neither team could seize control in the early stages of play. With the score tied 11-11, a service error by Mackenzie Kirby allowed the Knights to take a 12-11 lead. Kayleigh Reece earned a kill to make the score at 12-12 and a St. Andrews service error gave Brenau a 13-12 advantage. The Knights responded with a kill from Kimberly O'Nell to again tie the score 13-13, however, another Reece kill put the Golden Tigers ahead 14-13. On match point, Sydney Norton set Lanier Leonard for the game-winning kill to secure the victory.

Rachel Hodges led the Golden Tigers with 13 kills, while Vandiver added 10 kills. Nitaira Wilkes and Norton combined for 45 assists and Jordan Diaz had a career-high 45 digs.

Ashley McGugan led St. Andrews with 16 kills.

Brenau (2-18 overall, 2-10 AAC) next host Allen University (1-14 overall, 1-9 AAC) on Saturday morning at 11 am in Gainesville.