MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In the team’s final CCS Tri-Match of the season, Piedmont volleyball fought valiantly but was unable to overcome Asbury and Huntingdon on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama.
After a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Asbury in the team’s first match of the day, the Lions rebounded with a strong showing against the Hawks, but fell in the decisive fifth set.
Match 1: Asbury 3, Piedmont 0
The Eagles held control throughout most of the match, although the Lions put a scare in them in the first two sets.
Katie Hubbard led Piedmont with 10 kills while freshman Natalie Adams-Mullis paced the team with 11 digs. Rounding things out, Vanessa Manzo led with 25 assists. However, in each category, they were the only ones to reach double figures.
Asbury was on the attack from the start, delivering a hitting percentage over .300 in all three sets as it hit .354 for the match. Piedmont did not have an answer defensively, coming up with just two total blocks in the match.
Match 2 Score: Huntingdon 3, Piedmont 2
Coming off the sweep, the Lions had to get right back on the court, playing the host Hawks in the final match of the day.
Piedmont blitzed Huntingdon in the early going, racing out to a quick 11-4 lead in the opening set and eventually taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-14 first set win. The Lions hit a match-high .324 in the set.
Then, after falling behind early in the second set, Piedmont roared back to take a brief lead at 18-17 late. However, Huntingdon responded and overtook the Lions with a 25-22 second set win to even the match at 1-1.
The Lions were on their heels for most of the third set and headed to the fourth trailing 2-1 and needing to win the set to stay alive in the match.
In a back-and-forth battle, Piedmont pushed the match to a fifth set, 26-24, as an assist by Manzo set up a kill by Hubbard.
Unfortunately, the Lions ran out of steam in the fifth set, with the Hawks running away to clinch the match with a 15-6 victory.
In the loss, senior Jessica Sconyers delivered a career-high 18 kills to go with a .325 hitting percentage. Hubbard was outstanding again, tying her career high with 17 kills.
Manzo set a new career high, with 51 assists while also pacing the team with three service aces.
With the regular season in the books, the Lions finished sixth in the CCS regular season standings.
Up next, the Lions will take on the Collegiate Conference of the South Tournament.
TURNING POINT:
– With the second match of the day going to the fifth set, the Hawks took away all drama by running out to a big lead and closing it out with a 15-6 win.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
– Manzo set a new career high with 51 assists against Huntingdon.
– Sconyers totaled 18 kills against the Hawks, a career best.
– Hubbard reached the 17 kill mark for the second time this season, tying a career high.
