Wildcats Drop 3-2 Battle to Presbyterian

Friday, September 7

Jacksonville, Fla.

4:30 pm

Davidson College Athletics

3-2

Presbyterian

2-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Presbyterian	25	20	14	25	15	3
Davidson	18	25	25	20	9	2

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

9/7/2012 6:58:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite a strong effort, the Davidson volleyball team was unable to maintain a 2-1 lead and dropped the final two sets of the contest to take a 3-2 loss to the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the first game of the North Florida/Radisson Invitational on Friday afternoon.

Caroline Brown and Taylor Pisel ended the match with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Molly Crenshaw's 27 digs led the 'Cats, as did Ariel Ley's 45 assists. Brown, whose 19 digs earned her a double-double on the day, also served up two aces. Teammate Hannah Rau had a pair of service aces as well and accounted for two block assists and five kills. Rachel Earnhardt fell just shy of a double-double in the match, recording 12 digs and nine kills in addition to a block assist.

The 'Cats totaled 52 kills and 77 digs to Presbyterian's 60 kills and 78 digs. Each team served up six aces, and the Wildcats' totaled five blocks (eight assists, three solo) in the match.

Rachel Hall tallied 15 kills and six blocks in the match, with Presley Mabrey's 18 digs pacing PC. Ashtin Frank had 49 assists while Allison Brown chipped in with 14 kills.

The 'Cats struggled through the first set, as the Blue Hose quickly capitalized and took a 7-1 lead. That advantage was stretched to nine points on a kill by PC's Brown, and Presbyterian would remain ahead for the rest of the match. Though the Wildcats' were able score three straight points to make it a 24-18 set, PC closed things out on another kill by Brown to take the first set 25-18.

The two squads stayed neck-and-neck throughout most of the second set, playing to a 9-9 tie. After PC took a one-point lead on a service ace by Ashtin Frank, the Wildcats' stormed back as Brown served the next five points, including back-to-back service aces as Davidson took a 14-11 advantage. PC soon composed itself, and the two teams once again found themselves in a 17-17 tie on a kill by the Blue Hose's Brown. Consecutive kills by Pisel swayed the game in the 'Cats' favor once again, 21-19, before Hannah Rau added a kill and an ace as Davidson claimed the second set, 25-20, to tie the match at 1-1.

Davidson maintained control of a tight third set as well. An ace by Ley jump was the first of three straight points, giving the 'Cats a 12-7 lead on a PC attacking error. The Wildcats outscored the Blue Hose 13-7 to conclude the match as a kill by Brown gave Davidson the 25-14 set win and the 2-1 lead.

The fourth set offered up another battle between the two teams, who traded points to an 8-8 tie. The 'Cats scored five straight, with Crenshaw serving an ace and Brown recording a block assist and a kill as Davidson went ahead 13-9. The Blue Hose would battle back to tie things up at 15-all. The squads again kept it close, evening the set at 18-18 on a ball handling error by PC. However, the Blue Hose closed things out with a 4-0 run as they took the set by a score of 25-20 to tie the match at two sets apiece.

After trading points once again through the start of the tiebreaker set, Presbyterian took a two-point lead at the midway point and never looked back. A 4-1 span in favor of the Blue Hose put them up 11-7 on a kill by Berryman, and a pair of kills from Hall put the set away. The Wildcats' took a 15-9 loss in the set to drop the match 3-2 to PC.

The Wildcats will be back in action at the UNF/Radisson Invitational on Saturday as they face Florida A & M in a 10 a.m. contest before a 7 p.m. tilt with host North Florida at 7 p.m.