Three players recorded double-digit kills as the Presbyterian College volleyball team fought back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Davidson 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-9) in its opening game of the Radisson North Florida Invitational being held Sept. 7-8 in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Blue Hose improve to 2-7, while the Wildcats fall to 3-2 on the season.
Leading PC was Rachel Hall with 15 kills. She only posted four errors to come away with a team-leading .393 hitting percentage. Allison Brown followed with 14 kills, while Kelly Berryman added 13. Ashtin Frank came away with 49 assists and Mary Trimpe ended the match with 21 digs.
PC posted 60 kills, compared to 52 for Davidson. The Blue Hose hit .186 percent, while Davidson had a .190.
Down two games to one, the Blue Hose won the next two games to force a game five.
Game five was a back and forth battle early on with neither team able to make a move. Leading 7-6, Davidson recorded an attack error to give PC the two-point lead. The Blue Hose rattled off to more off a kill by Andrea Barman and Berryman to lead 10-6. PC kept the distance the rest of the game, capitalizing on another kill by Berryman and two kills by Hall, including on match point, to take the 15-9 deciding game.
The Blue Hose opened the first game with 7-1 lead. PC stretched it to nine points on a kill by Brown, and PC would hold the lead the rest of the match. The Wildcats scored three straight to make it 24-18, but PC closed the rally on another kill by Brown to take the first game 25-18.
The second set was close early on and both teams were tied at 9-9. After PC took a one-point lead on a service ace by Frank, the Wildcats rallied to a 14-11 advantage. PC fought back to a 17-17 tie on a kill by Brown. Consecutive Davidson kills turned the game in its favor, 21-19, before Hannah Rau added a kill and an ace as the Wildcats claimed the second game, 25-20, to tie the match at 1-1.
Davidson controlled most of the third game and led 12-7 at one point. The Wildcats used a 13-7 run to end the game 25-14 and take the 2-1 lead.
The fourth game was a close affair as both team battled to an 8-8 tie. The Wildcats scored five straight as Davidson went ahead 13-9. The Blue Hose battled back to tie the game at 15-15. Tied again at18-18 the Blue Hose closed things out with a 7-2 run, capitalizing on five PC kills.
PC takes on UNF Saturday at noon, before facing Florida A&M at 5 p.m.
