'Cats Suffer 3-2 Setback to FAMU at UNF Invite

Saturday, September 8

Jacksonville, Fla.

10:00 am

Davidson College Athletics

3-3

Florida A&M

1-7

Florida A&M

Davidson

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

'Cats Suffer 3-2 Setback to FAMU at UNF Invite

9/8/2012 12:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Four players finishing in double digits in kills was not enough to help the Davidson volleyball team past Florida A&M, as the Wildcats fell to the Rattlers, 3-2, at the UNF/Radisson Invite on Saturday morning.

Set scores were 25-19, 20-25, 24-26, 25-19, 11-15 as Davidson dropped its second straight five-set affair to fall to an even 3-3. Florida A&M earned its first win of the season, sitting at 1-7.

Caroline Brown led the way for the 'Cats with 20 kills and 18 digs, while Tindall Sewell was a close second with 17 kills. Hannah Rau (14 kills, six block assists), Taylor Pisel (10 kills, five block assists) and Ariel Ley (63 assists) were also among the 'Cats top performers. Molly Crenshaw chipped in with a team-high 22 digs in the match.

The Rattlers put three players in double-digits in kills, led by Yeisha Arcia's 20. Pamela Barrera and Maria Ceccarelli added 13 and 10, respectively. Diana Gonzales had 51 assists, while Karol Marquez dug out 32 attacks.

Set one started out close, with both teams even after a combined 12 points had been played. Davidson rattled off three straight to grab the lead at 9-6 and would hold it the remainder of the set. Up 13-11, Brown helped the 'Cats push the lead out to 19-13 with a pair of kills in a 6-2 spurt. The Rattlers burned a timeout to regroup. They cut the lead to three, 19-16, on a service ace, but kills from Rachel Earnhardt, Pisel and Rau got the lead out to seven and Davidson closed it out on a kill from Earnhardt for the 25-19 advantage.

Florida A&M used a 8-2 run to break up an early 5-all tie to take control of set two. Arcia provided the offense, hammering home five kills in the spurt. Davidson battled back and cut the deficit to two, 21-19, after a Rattler timeout, but Florida A&M sealed the set with a 4-1 run to knot the match up.

Out of the break, the third set went down to the wire. The Wildcats picked up a three-point advantage at 8-5 on back-to-back Brown and Rau kills. They maintained the lead until the Rattlers tied things up at 10-10 on a Marquez kill. The Rattlers then pushed the lead out to 12-10, forcing Davidson to use a timeout. Then after falling behind 21-15, the 'Cats used one last charge, knotting things up at 24-all thanks to a 5-0 run. Sewell and Brown combined for three of the points on kills. Florida A&M finished it with the final two points.

It looked as though the Rattlers would seal up the match in four sets, jumping out to a 10-6 lead in set four. They held the lead the majority of the set, but Davidson never backed down and it paid off in the end. Down 19-16, Brown sparked a 9-0 run to close out the set. She had three kills in the run to help force the final set.

Davidson had an early 4-3 lead in set five, but Florida A&M grabbed a 9-6 lead on a Wildcat attack error. The Wildcats got to within two points twice, 10-12 and 11-13, but the Rattlers' Arcia concluded the match with a kill for the 15-11 win.

The five-set match was Davidson's fourth in its first six matches.

The 'Cats will look to snap a mini two-game skid when they play host North Florida at 7 p.m. this evening.