Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania volleyball team stormed back from a 2-0 set deficit to force a fifth set against the No. 13 Berry College Vikings, but the visiting Vikings prevailed by a deuce, 16-14 in five sets to deny the Pioneers an epic comeback on Friday night at the Beck Center.
Berry picked up a surgical 25-18 win in set one and cruised to a 25-13 second set win before the resurgent Pioneers fought off the Vikings with a 28-26 win in set three. Transylvania seized momentum for a 25-19 set four victory and erased a 12-9 deficit in the fifth set before the Vikings scored the final two points of the evening to stave off Transylvania.
The Pioneers dropped to 7-8 overall on the season while Berry improved to 6-1 overall.
Cate Scheper hammered home a career-high 19 kills in a supreme effort for the Pioneers, who overcame a slow start and relentless defense by the Vikings to bounce back and go the distance on Friday.
Hampered by a ratio of five kills to six errors in the second set, the Pioneers sought answers against Berry, which tallied a combined 28 kills in the first two sets. Transylvania crafted a 4-1 advantage early in the third set on two kills from Scheper but Berry refused to go away as the visitors pursued their sweep. Madison Sweeney levied one of her 13 kills on the night to lift Transy ahead, 19-17. Berry swung back with the next two points to tie up the set again at 21-all.
The Pioneers gritted their teeth and fended off four ensuing ties with four chances for set point. Leading 27-26, Sylvie Miller closed the door on the third set with a closing ace to hand the Pioneers a 28-26 win.
The fourth set all but belonged to Transylvania as its offense was in high gear and its rotations in sync. With the set tied 8-8, Grace Ward held serve for seven straight points, pushing the Pioneers to an eventual 19-10 advantage. Kayden Holcomb and Karrington Jackson stood tall at the net, later handing Transy a 22-11 advantage. Scheper and Sweeney held off one final Berry rush with clutch kills to force the fifth set.
Serving first, Berry built a 5-3 lead but Jackson registered back to back kills to tie up the fifth set at 5-5. The teams battled to four more consecutive ties before Berry scored three points in a row to gain an 11-9 advantage. Scheper rose to the occasion with consecutive kills for an 11-11 game. The match hung in the balance as Scheper poked down her 19th kill of the night to tie up the set at 14-14. But Berry found the opening against the Pioneers twice in a row to close out the tightest game of the season contested by Transy.
Ward led the Pioneers with 37 assists in defeat while Miller tallied a team-high 20 digs. Berry outgained Transy in digs, 79-75 on the night.
The Pioneers look to bounce back quickly tomorrow at noon for the first of two matches as part of the four-match TU Invite. Transylvania hosts Muskingum at 12 noon, followed by a match between Marietta and Hanover at 2:30 p.m. Hanover will then play Muskingum at 5:00 p.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. finale between the Pioneers and Marietta. Admission for the tournament is $10 for adults, and $5 for students.
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