CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team opened Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday night by welcoming the Anderson Ravens into the Harrington Center. The Lions entered as the #18 team in the country with a 12-1 record, Anderson provided a worthy opponent for the Lions forcing them to earn the hard-fought victory.
In the opening set of the match it looked as though the Lions were going to dominate the match as they have most of the early season. They were helped in the first set by unforced errors by the Ravens, who hit -.029 as a team in the set.
Hannah Graves and
Grace Young each had 3 kills in the first set. The Mount raced out to an big early lead pushing their advantage to 13-4 behind a 5-point service run from Grave. They would go on to win set one 25-13.
In the second set the Lions once again looked to be in control of the match holding an 10-6 advantage, but Anderson fought back and took their first lead of the match at 11-10. They set would remain close until a late run by the Ravens pushed them ahead 23-18, and they looked poised to close out the second set. The Mount would take six of the next seven points to tie the score at 24, the teams would then exchange leads over the next few points. Late in the set the Lions held a 28-27 lead, but Anderson would rip off three points in a row to take the second set 30-28.
In the early portion of the third set Anderson continued their momentum of the second set, taking an early lead. The Lions quickly answered taking a six point lead at 13-7, with an 11-3 run. They would not trail again in the set, dominating the action en route to a 25-16 win.
In the fourth and decisive set the Lions once again looked like they would win the set handily. They would lead by as many as five points at 20-15 late in the set, but Anderson would not go away. The Ravens clawed back into the set cutting the lead down to just one. The outcome of the set was in doubt until very late as Anderson trailed by just two at 24-22, but a big kill by Young finished the match off for the Mount.
Young and Graves each had twelve kills in the match,
Emma Sicking joined them with double-digit kills with 10. The Lions were fantastic defensively at the net led by
McKenzee Wagener and her season-high six blocks. They also did a great job at funneling swings from Anderson at their libero
Erin Androne who had a match-high 28 digs to lead a trio of players in double figures. With
Carly Caldwell (16) and
Jasmine Butler (11) joining her with double-digit digs. Butler the Lions setter dished out 43 assists. They were also fantastic at the service line with 11 service aces, Graves led the way with 5.
UP NEXT: The Lions will have a week off, before welcoming the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology into the Harrington Center on October 7th to continue HCAC play.
