LEXINGTON, KY — Transylvania University volleyball battled back from a two-set deficit to earn a 3-2 victory over the University of Dubuque on Saturday at the Clive M. Beck Center. The Pioneers dropped the opening two sets before taking the final three, 14-25, 20-25, 25-22, 33-31, 15-13, to improve to 6-8 on the season.
After Dubuque took control early with victories in the first two sets, Transylvania began its comeback in the third. The Pioneers recorded 13 kills with just two attack errors on 36 attempts, hitting .306 on their way to a 25-22 win and extending the match. The fourth set turned into a marathon. The two sides battled to a 31-31 tie before Transylvania secured the final two points for a 33-31 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set. The fourth alone featured 19 ties and five lead changes.
With the match on the line, the Pioneers finished the comeback with a 15-13 victory in the fifth. Transylvania put down 10 kills on 21 attempts in the final set, hitting .286 to complete the reverse sweep. Addie Atcher led the Pioneer attack with a match-high 23 kills. Cecelia Roberts delivered an efficient performance with nine kills and just one error on 17 attempts, hitting .471 while adding two service aces and three block assists. Payton Avilez recorded 10 kills, while Logan Dunham added nine and Peyton Mast finished with eight.
Erin Thomas led Transylvania with 27 assists and added 11 digs and two service aces. Megan Sweeney contributed 21 assists and seven digs, while Megan Helander led the Pioneer defense with 23 digs to go along with five assists and two aces. Soleil Sabin added 14 digs.
Transylvania finished with 61 kills, 58 assists, eight service aces and 75 digs. The match featured 33 ties and 12 lead changes, including 23 combined ties over the final two sets.
Transylvania University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the HCAC. To keep up to date with all of Transylvania Athletics, check out our website at transysports.com and follow @TransySports on Instagram.
