The Lady Lions entered the Clearwater Invitational on September 3 with a 3-3 record, seeking improvement as a program. Bryan left with a 6-5 record, mixed results, but felt they took some strides as a team.
Friday, the team dropped a 3-1 decision to Northwood University (18-25, 22-25, 25-16, 21-25). Although the frontline, led by Senior Captain Alison Young, hit a combined .254, the passing core struggled, limiting the Lions' opportunities to score. Junior Libero Courtney Cotter led the defense with 15 digs.
The Lions re-focused and put together two solid wins later that evening, defeating Bluefield State and Lancaster Bible College each in straight sets. Young led the Lions again in the 25-15, 25-9, 25-18 sweep over BSU, while Freshman OH Chelsea Breaden had a breakout game hammering 6 kills with a .417 hitting pct. Freshman Setter Rebecca Adams served up 8 of the Lions' 15 aces in the match. The Lions cruised in their 25-22, 25-11, 25-12 victory over LBC as well. In set 1, Coach Sayles sought to give a much-needed rest to several starters after the team built a 21-14 lead, but the team faltered and held on for the 3-point win. The team settled down in sets 2 and 3, giving Sayles the opportunity to play the entire roster. Sophomore RS Kaylan Dilts led the Lions with 10 kills (.471 pct).
The Lions' added another win Saturday morning with a 3-game sweep of Ave Maria University (25-11, 25-17, 25-12). In the afternoon match, the Lions faced off against the Clearwater Christian host team. The defending NCCAA Div II national champion host team proved why they hold multiple national championships with a 3-game sweep of the Lions (19-25, 21-25, 18-25). The Lions competed well, keeping each set close through point 17 or 18, but could not answer the offensive onslaught of the Cougars. The match was intense with great defensive play on both sides of the net. Senior OH Lauren Pratt tallied 9 kills for the Lions, while Cotter dug up 12. Alison Young was named to the All-Tournament Team for her offensive efforts during the weekend matches.
After the final match, Coach Sayles commented, "This was not a bad weekend for us, but I would have been more pleased with a 4-1 showing. We started out playing poorly with too many unforced errors against Northwood, but had the opportunity to settle ourselves with the three sweeps. I finally started to see some fire from my players in the Clearwater match, but we are just not a finishing team yet. However, we saw some good improvement in several key areas, several of our younger players gained valuable game-experience, and I believe we are settling in on our lineup. We can now begin to focus on the competitive aspect as we prepare for our first conference matches. I feel good that the team will be ready to compete for a conference championship again."
The Lions are off until September 10-11, when they open conference play on the road at Virginia Intermont College and Bluefield College.
