ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. – Averett University women's volleyball split its away tri-match on Saturday afternoon, as the Cougars swept Keystone College and lost a three-setter to hosts St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Match 1
Averett (3-13) opened up the tri-match with Keystone (5-21), and the Cougars controlled the match from the first serve. As a team, the designated home team hit .440 in the first set, en route to a 25-14 set win.
In the second, both sides split the first four points before the Cougars went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding seven-point lead. Two more strong point streaks of three and seven had Averett in full control of the match, as its offense hummed to a two-set lead. The squad recorded 11 kills while limiting the Giants to just four in the set.
Keystone kept the third set tight up until 9-8 in Averett's favor, but the Cougars ripped off six straight points to go up 15-8, which included three straight service aces from junior middle hitter/right side Emily Phillips. Keystone could not overcome the deficit in front of them, as Averett cruised to the 25-17 set win and its second sweep of the week.
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Senior outside hitter Tahani Villines hit .571 with 10 kills in the match, while fellow senior outside Sydney Mounce hit .429 with seven kills and a team-high seven digs. Phillips added six kills and her three service aces.
Senior setter Megan Litman had five service aces in the match, while freshman setter Hannah Batista and Litman led the team in assists with 16 and 15, respectively. Averett, as a team, finished with 36 kills and a .352 hitting percentage.
Match 2
St. Mary's flipped the script, as it held a lead for most of the second period and had set point at 24-17. The visitors won six straight points to make events enticing, with a pair of kills from Mounce. However, on their eighth match point, the Seahawks grabbed the necessary 25th point and took a two-set lead.
In the third, Averett and St. Mary's were knotted until 10-10, thanks in part to a pair of kills each from outside hitter/right side Sydney Carbone, Mounce and Villines. Neither team afterward could gain an advantage on the other, and Averett kept the Seahawks in check at 16-all.
St. Mary's proceeded to distance itself from the Cougars, as the Seahawks rounded out the set and sweep, taking nine out of the remaining 10 points.
Mounce and Villines led the Cougars in kills in match two with seven apiece, while Carbone recorded a .286 hitting percentage with six kills. Senior outside hitter Allie Lane notched her season high in total blocks with five, and Phillips had four of her own. Megan Litman went back-to-back in double-digit assist totals with 12 versus St. Mary's.
Averett dips right back into ODAC action, beginning a four-match home stand with Randolph College on deck on Wednesday, Oct. 21. First serve against the WildCats is set for 6:30 p.m.
