Henderson, Tenn.- The Blue Mountain Christian University Volley Toppers showed their resilience Tuesday evening, battling their way to a thrilling five-set victory over Freed-Hardeman University.
Coming off a long weekend trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the Volley Toppers entered Tuesday's match with a 2-1 record.
BMCU was pushed to the limit by the Lions but stood strong when it mattered most to earn the 3-2 victory (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13).
Freed-Hardeman struck first, taking the opening set 25-18 behind 14 kills.
The Volley Toppers quickly responded in the second set with their best offensive performance of the match.
BMCU recorded 15 kills while hitting .268 in the second and held the Lions to a .068 hitting percentage.
The Volley Toppers used the strong response to take the set 25-21 and even the match at one set apiece.
The third set turned into a back-and-forth battle. Despite Freed-Hardeman recording 17 kills in the frame,
BMCU remained composed in the closing points and pulled out a 25-23 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
With an opportunity to close things out in the fourth, the Volley Toppers found themselves in another tightly contested set.
This time, the Lions came away with the 25-23 decision to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
BMCU answered the challenge.
The Volley Toppers recorded seven kills with only two attacking errors in the deciding frame. With little separating the two sides down the stretch, BMCU finished off the Lions 15-13 to secure the five-set road victory.
Salice Speed led the BMCU attack with 13 kills while adding 12 digs for a double-double.
Marissa Gerleman followed with 11 kills on a .200 hitting percentage, while
Valeria Velez added eight kills and hit .206.
Mattie Hopper was efficient in the middle, finishing with four kills on eight attempts without an attacking error for a .500 hitting percentage.
Olivia Domino added 19 assists, while
Sydney Tague dished out 14.
Defensively,
Abbi Williams continued her strong start to the season.
The reigning SSAC Defender of the Week recorded a match-high 34 digs, giving her 101 digs over BMCU's last four matches.
Speed's 12 digs also helped the Volley Toppers finish with 78 as a team.
BMCU also made its presence felt at the net, finishing with eight total blocks compared to five for Freed-Hardeman.
The Lions finished with a 66-46 advantage in kills, but the Volley Toppers made the most of their opportunities.
BMCU committed only 16 attacking errors compared to 30 by Freed-Hardeman and finished with a .197 hitting percentage to the Lions' .183.
The victory moves the Volley Toppers to 3-1 on the season.
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