LAGRANGE, Ga.—Agnes Scott Volleyball split a pair of USA South matches on Saturday afternoon. The Scotties won their second conference match in a row by handing Berea a loss in three sets before dropping a match to host LaGrange in four sets.
The Scotties move to 2-5 in conference action and 4-15 overall this season. Agnes Scott returns to non-conference play on Wednesday when they head a few miles up to play Oglethorpe for a 7:30 first serve.
Match One: Agnes Scott 3 – 0 Berea (25-20, 25-19, 25-23)
Despite missing one of its most consistent offensive presences over the last few weeks, Agnes Scott was able to connect early and often against the Mountaineers. After shaking off a 10-4 deficit in the first set, Agnes Scott's offense with Morgan Pearson (Pensacola, Fla.) and Tiara White (Sinton, Texas) on the outside got into a rhythm. The two combined for 21 kills in the match, which included leading the team to a 21-10 run to close out the opening game.
The second set was much more of a grind for both sides with neither team putting together more than one or two points at a time. The Scotties clung to a 20-19 advantage late in the set, but benefitted from four consecutive errors committed by the Mountaineers to register a 25-19 win.
A third game followed an identical script to the first as Berea held a sizeable lead by the midway point. However, Agnes Scott flexed its comeback game with two huge rallies in near succession to sway the momentum completely. The Scotties eventually pulled it out 25-23.
Pearson was the match leader with 12 kills, while White added another nine. Bella Kammerer (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) set up 31 finishes for the second match in a row. Kalia Jones (Atlanta, Ga.) rattled Berea with four service aces, half of the Scotties output for the match.
Match Two: LaGrange 3 – 1 Agnes Scott (14-25, 25-11, 25-14, 25-19)
The final match of the day was a strange one from the outset.
Agnes Scott carried its momentum from a dominant 2 p.m. match into the first set of the finale against the Panthers. The Scotties cruised in the first set with a pair of substantial runs down the stretch after initially falling behind to the Panthers.
Each of the other three sets followed a similar storyline but it was LaGrange who rolled to easy victories in the second and third to take a 2-1 match lead.
Agnes Scott battled in the fourth, looking to force a winner-take-all fifth game. The Scotties held a 17-15 lead after Musumaulai Galoia (Hephzibah, Ga.) finished off her eighth kill of the match. However, LaGrange quickly flipped the match with eight straight points and Agnes Scott was never able to recover in a 25-19 loss.
Again, Pearson was the kills leader for the Scotties with 11 to go along with Galoia's eight. Jones equaled her first-match kills with five, but did plenty of damage in other areas with three more service aces and three solo blocks.
Jazzlyn Kenner was the top scorer in the match, finishing off 14 kills for the Panthers while Mimi Loftus added another 16 points for the home side.