The Truett-McConnell Lady Bears Volleyball Team opened their season this past weekend going 1-3 at the Faulkner Invitational in Montgomery, AL.
The Lady Bears had a slow start in the opening game against Faulkner University, losing in just three games. Katie Russell and Tarryn Long led the team in kills with 6 each. Defensively, Jocelyn Mayahag led the Bears with 15 digs.
The Bears picked up play in their second game against Freed-Hardeman. After dropping the first set 21-25, the Bears bounced back to win the second set 25-22. The Bears could not gain enough momentum in the third and fourth sets (21-25, 18-25) to close out, allowing the Lions to take the win. Katie Russell helped the team to jump start the match with 5 kills in the first game. She finished leading the team in kills with 12. Hannah Simpson added 10 kills on the match, and Tarryn Long had 9. The Bears’ defense was led by Jocelyn Mahayag with 24 digs.
The Lady Bears turned up their offense in the match against SUNO behind the play of outside hitter, Tarryn Long. Long finished the match with 15 kills. Katie Russell and Hannah Simpson added 12 and 10 kills, respectively. The Bears won the first set 15-25, but lost a close second set 23-25. The Bears regained momentum in game three behind the serves of Morgan Harris, who led the team with 4 aces. Alex Brake and Hayley Haskell also added 3 aces each. Defensively, Jocelyn Mahayag led the team with 26 digs, while Keri King and Hannah Simpson added 10.
Alex Brake led the offensive push for the Bears, finishing with 42 assists and breaking the school record for number of assists in a game. The Bears finished with 52 kills for the match, which ranks second in the record books for the most kills in a game by a Lady Bears team.
The Lady Bears battled through a tough final match against the Bethel University Wildcats. After dropping the first two sets 21-25 and 19-25, the Bears rallied to win the third set 25-21, giving Bethel their only set loss for the tournament. After the Wildcats started the 4th game with a big lead, the Bears were unable to recover, losing that set 15-25.
Leading the Bears’ offense was Tarryn Long with 10 kills and Kendall Hardy with 9 kills. Alex Brake finished with 27 assists. Defensively, Jocelyn Mayahag led the Bears with 27 digs and Keri King added 20. The Bears totaled for 87 digs, setting another school record for number of digs in a game.
“I am very pleased with how hard the girls battled this weekend,” said Head Coach Melody Tenney. “Playing these tough opponents will help prepare us for conference play that starts on Friday.”
The Lady Bears’ first home match will be this Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 PM against Toccoa Falls College.
