MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tn. In the first competitions of the year, the
Southern Virginia Volleyball team stumbled out of the gates, losing
three matches, and winning one, at the Milligan Mountain Madness
Tournament. The Knights headed in to the tournament under first
year head coach Ricky Messman, and were looking to find out how
much progress had been made in the pre-season. SVU (1-3) got a rude
awakening to the season when they faced off against Bryan College.
Bryan jumped out early on the Knights, and never looked back
scoring a 25-16, 25-15 and 25-18 win over the Knights,
Southern Virginia was able to regroup for the second match
against Trvecca Nazarene. The first two games of the match looked
as if the Knights would bow out quickly, but a strong third game,
saw SVU win 25-16, and gave the team hope for a comeback. Ali Krebs
continued to direct the offense for the Knights, as she totaled
35-assists in the match. A team effort on defense was seen, as a
total of 43-digs were recorded in the game, to accompany 23-total
blocks. Despite the solid efforts put in by the team, TNU was able
to escape the fourth and deciding game with a score of 25-20 for
the 3-1 match win.
In the second day of competition the Knights were able to record
a win, as they swept UVA-Wise 25-16, 25-20 and 25-22. Bryndy Anderson led the team in kills with seven, and Krebs again
orchestrated the offense, as they got the first win of the season.
The Knights exceeded the digs total from the TNU game, as they
racked up 51-digs. The team totaled 27-kills in the victory, and
the Knights had momentum heading into the final match with
tournament host Milligan.
The hosts had different plans heading in to the game, and jumped
on SVU early, and often leading to a three-game sweep. SVU could
muster very little offense, and despite the momentum from the
previous win, could not overcome a determined Buffaloes team.
Despite the losses, Krebs was named to the tournament team. The
Knights will now turn their attention to the next game, when they
host Concord. The game has a 6:00 start in the Knight Arena.
