Historic Season for Volleyball Ends in AAC Tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn.- The historic season for the volleyball team came to an end on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament. The team fell to the No. 3 seed Reinhardt University Lady Eagles 3-0.

The sixth-seeded Lady Bulldogs started the match with a Amya Sutton kill and Alley Hibdon service ace to lead 2-0. Reinhardt took the momentum, scoring nine of the next 11 points to lead 9-4. After falling behind 14-4, TWU had four straight points, includng two Hibdon kills, fall their way to cut the deficit to six points. The opponents stopped the run by the Lady Bulldogs, moving ahead 19-9 over the next few points. Tennessee Wesleyan made one more run at the lead, scoring five straight points to cut the Reinhardt lead down to five points. The team was not able to pull much closer though as Reinhardt took the first set 25-17. 

Savannah Jones gave TWU a 1-0 lead to open the second set and the opening of the second set saw the team exchange points with a tied score 7-7 occurring on Sutton's kill. A block assist by Nyah Hudson and Jones put the score at 11-10 in favor of the opponents but a scoring rally by Reinhardt gave them a 17-12 lead deeper into the set. The Lady Bulldogs went on a scoring run a few minutes later, cutting the deficit to three points. A block solo by Hunter Ford brought the team back within three points once more but the team was not able to get to 25 before Reinhardt as they won the second set 25-20.

Similar to the second set, the Lady Bulldogs kept pace with the Lady Eagles as a kill by Hudson tied the score 8-8. Reinhardt broke the tie with eight straight points, taking a 16-8 lead. Tennessee Wesleyan was not able to quell the opponents' momentum, going on to fall in the set 25-14.

The team ends the season with 20 wins, the most wins in a season in program history. The team's 12 AAC wins tied the program record for conference wins in a season.