Box Score Lexington, Ky. – The No. 20 Transylvania volleyball team treated its fans to a nail-biting five-set win in its 2021 home opener on Wednesday evening, defeating the Maryville (Tenn.) College Scots, 25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-14, 15-12 at the Beck Center.
Transylvania improved to 6-3 on the season while Maryville fell to 0-5 in a concerted upset bid of the nationally-ranked Pioneers.
Madison Sweeney walloped a career-high 21 kills for the second time in her career as part of a high-powered Transylvania offense, which delivered 63 team kills. Grace Ward handed out a career-high 54 assists for the Pioneers, who had to go the distance against the voracious Scots and came up clutch when it mattered most.
The Pioneers worked their way to a hard-fought set one win behind an early 6-1 burst. The Scots held tight and never went away, eventually cutting the Transy lead to 24-23. But a failed return by Maryville handed the set to the Pioneers, who amassed 14 kills in the opening set.
Transylvania was in high gear in the second set, holding Maryville to a .083 attacking percentage while converting a high-efficiency offense to the tune of 13 kills against only three errors as the home team sought a sweep.
The pendulum swung in the third set as the Pioneers' 14-9 advantage evaporated on a 9-2 run by the Scots. Transylvania found its back against the wall and took its turn displaying resilience, tying up the set at 21-all on a kill by Ward and a joint block by Karrington Jackson and Kaetlin Ethington. But with the set tied at 23-23, The Pioneers were unable to return two strong shots by the Scots, and the visitors sent the match into a fourth set.
The Scots rode their newfound momentum to a sweltering 25-14 win, serving up 15 kills to just two errors.
However, the Pioneers were intent on securing a win in their first home appearance of the year and went back to work, forging a 6-3 advantage. Sweeney and Madi Davis made a series of industrious plays to stretch Transylvania's lead to 10-6. The Scots bit into the Transy lead one more time, but Cate Scheper answered the bell with two of her 17 kills on the night for back-to-back points to hand the match to Transylvania.
Sylvie Miller led the backline with 21 digs, while Ward chipped in 14 digs and Ava Beltsos added 12. Jackson led the Pioneers with four blocks.
Transylvania hits the road again for a four-match slate this weekend in Delaware, Ohio at the 2021 Bishop Invitational, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. The Pioneers serve up their weekend on Friday, September 17 at 3:00 p.m. against Ohio Wesleyan and turn around to play the University of Mount Union at 7:00 p.m. later that night.
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