Jennifer Opper led the way for the Lady Lions with a total of 26 kills in two matches Saturday including 16 against Methodist with an attack percentage of .517.
Fayetteville, N.C. – The Piedmont College Volleyball team dropped two matches in conference play Saturday to Methodist, 3-1, and Meredith, 3-0, snapping a five match conference win streak. The Lady Lions were led by Jennifer Opper who had another stellar performance including 16 kills against Methodist with a .517 attack percentage.
“I think we were emotionally drained entering the match,” Head Coach Sid Feldman said. “We’ve been changing lineups every week, and we finally succumbed to the exhaustion of the constant change.”
In the first match against the Monarchs, the Lady Lions dropped the first set in a close contest 25-22 before losing the second 25-17. In the third, Piedmont took advantage of a lead and went on to a 25-21 win for their lone win of the day, and dropped the fourth set 25-17.
Opper was again dominant on the court continuing her recent hot streak as the senior has been a key leader this season. Mallory Leary was second on the team with 8 kills while Taylor Cramsey added 7. As a team, the Lady Lions had 47 kills which lead to Xandy Green tallying a team high 25 assists while Kait Steele added 16.
Feldman relied on a new defensive player in this match as freshman Randee Harvel was called on and recorded 20 digs in the contest. The Lady Lions gave up the second highest attack percentage of the season as the Monarchs hit .310 as a team.
Against the Avenging Angels, Piedmont was unable to get into the twenties in any set coming closest in the first set in a 25-18 loss. In the second set, Meredith won 25-16 before taking the final decisive set 25-17.
“These kids have been heroic all year,” Feldman said. “The Monarchs came out with phenomenal setting. They really kept us off balance. We never understood what our blocking patterns should be.”
It was again Opper who led the way with 10 kills, giving her 26 on the day, with a .455 attack percentage while Piedmont only recorded 28 kills as a team. Green had a double-double with 12 assists and 11 digs while Harvel again was the leader in digs with 12.
The Lady Lions will return to action Wednesday night on the road facing Covenant College. The Scots won inside Cave Arena handing Piedmont its only loss at home this season with a straight sets victory in the conference home opener. Wednesday’s match will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
