MACON, Ga. – On Friday, September 13, the Presbyterian College volleyball team (3-6) claimed an intense 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13) victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (3-4). However, the Blue Hose were narrowly defeated by the Elon Phoenix (5-5) in another five-set battle, falling 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 25-18, 12-15).
 
COACH BENSON'S THOUGHTS
"Good things are happening on the court. Finding consistency will be the key as we move forward. A lot of five setters so it's an opportunity to improve, but we need to string sets wins together. Good performances by our outsides (Hannah and Julia) in the first match along with Courtney Williams being a being presence on the net hitting and blocking. Anna is working hard running the offense and getting everyone involved. Find that groove through a whole match will be the key to greater success."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE – SOUTHERN MISS
FIRST SET
Courtney Williams opened the match with the first kill of the day, but Southern Miss quickly responded, stringing together three unanswered points. The teams traded blows in a competitive back-and-forth, highlighted by three kills from Hannah Rowe, narrowing the score to 9-7 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss then extended their lead by four, before PC trimmed the deficit to 11-10 with a Julia Yurkovich kill, followed by a service ace from Rowe.
 
Southern Miss appeared to regain control, taking four of the next five points, despite another kill from Williams. Kills from Elyse Hutchinson and Williams kept Presbyterian within striking distance, cutting the lead to 15-13.
 
The Golden Eagles briefly pulled away again, taking a 19-15 advantage, but Presbyterian refused to back down. Rowe led the charge with three consecutive kills, aided by a timely service ace from Aliza Hart. The Blue Hose went on a five-point run to seize their first lead since the opening point, 19-18.
 
Southern Miss tied it up with a kill, but Presbyterian remained composed. Brittney Daphnis and Rowe contributed key kills, while another ace from Rowe pushed PC ahead 22-20. With momentum on their side, a pair of powerful kills from Yurkovich made it set point at 24-23. A Golden Eagles attack error sealed the set, giving the Blue Hose a thrilling 25-23 win.
 
SECOND SET
Riding the momentum from their first-set win, the Blue Hose came out strong in the second, racing to an 8-3 lead. Powered by kills from Williams and Yurkovich, along with additional strikes from Rowe and Anna Baranski forced Southern Miss to call an early timeout. Despite a brief back-and-forth, the Blue Hose maintained a five-point advantage, 11-6, with key contributions from Hutchinson, Williams, and a solo block from Rowe.
 
Williams added a commanding solo block to extend the Blue Hose's dominance, but Southern Miss clawed their way back, taking five of the next seven points and narrowing PC's lead to 14-11. Presbyterian held firm, thanks to a Yurkovich kill and a powerful solo block from Hutchinson, keeping the score at 17-14.
 
As the set continued, Rowe reached double-digit kills, while Baranski chipped in with a well-placed service ace. However, Southern Miss fought back and managed to tie the set at 20-20. A timely kill from Yurkovich allowed PC to retake the lead, but the Golden Eagles surged ahead, claiming their first lead of the set at 23-22. Hutchinson tied it up at 23 apiece with a clutch kill, but Southern Miss capitalized on a few late opportunities to take the second set, 25-23.
 
THIRD SET
The Blue Hose wasted no time in the third set, grabbing an early 2-0 lead with a service ace from Baranski and a kill by Rowe. Southern Miss responded with three straight points to take a brief lead, but Presbyterian quickly took control with one of their best runs of the season. Behind kills from Rowe and Williams, and blocks from Daphnis, Williams, and Hutchinson, PC surged ahead, taking a commanding 9-4 lead after winning seven of the next eight points.
 
Presbyterian continued to build momentum, extending their lead with a flurry of kills from Yurkovich (two), Baranski, and Hutchinson. Amaris Alvarez added to the run with back-to-back service aces, pushing the Blue Hose advantage to 17-8. Although Southern Miss showed some resistance, a kill from Rowe and a block by Williams and Daphnis kept PC firmly in control at 20-15.
 
Yurkovich delivered two more crucial kills, while Rowe added another, bringing Presbyterian to set point at 24-19. Baranski then set up Daphnis for a decisive kill, sealing the set at 25-20 and giving the Blue Hose a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
FOURTH SET
Presbyterian started the fourth set strong, putting together a quick three-point run, but Southern Miss fought back to tie the score at 6-6, despite a trio of kills from Williams and two from Yurkovich. The Golden Eagles then pulled ahead, building a four-point lead at 14-10. A timely kill from Williams and a block from Hutchinson brought PC back within striking distance, cutting the deficit to just one.
 
However, Southern Miss regained control, taking five of the next six points to stretch their lead to 19-14. Refusing to go quietly, the Blue Hose scored four consecutive points. Behind two clutch kills from Hutchinson, one from Rowe, and a service ace from Courtney Aulbaugh, PC narrowed the gap to 19-18.
 
Rowe added another kill to keep the Blue Hose in contention, but Southern Miss managed to hold on, taking the set 25-21 and forcing a decisive fifth set.
 
FIFTH SET
Both teams traded points to open the decisive fifth set, with Presbyterian's early points coming from a Yurkovich kill. A block from Williams and Daphnis kept the score tied at 4-4. Kills from Baranski and Rowe gave the Blue Hose a slight edge at 7-6, but Southern Miss responded with three straight points to take the lead.
 
Presbyterian fought back, tying the score at 9-9 thanks to a Baranski kill and another block from Williams and Daphnis. Rowe's 18th kill of the match, setting a new career-high, gave PC a narrow 10-9 advantage. Southern Miss quickly answered with two kills to retake the lead, 11-10.
 
Rowe once again delivered, tying the score at 12-12 with another crucial kill. Yurkovich then stepped up with two consecutive kills, bringing PC to match point at 14-13. A bad set by Southern Miss sealed the deal, giving Presbyterian a hard-fought 15-13 victory in the final set and the match.
 
NOTABLES
- Rowe reached double-figure kills by the second set, finishing with a new career-high of 19 kills.
- Rowe also added 14 digs which resulted in her fourth double-double of the season.
- Yurkovich also tallied a career-high of 17 kills while also hitting at .255 percent and adding nine digs.
- Baranski finished with her sixth double-double in eight games with an impressive 38 assists and 23 digs.
- Williams ended the match with 13 kills at a .314 hitting percentage and seven blocks.
 
 
 
GAME TWO – ELON
FIRST SET
The Blue Hose came out firing in the opening set, jumping to a commanding 7-1 lead. Rowe delivered two service aces, while Daphnis and Williams teamed up for back-to-back block assists. Elon responded with a trio of kills to cut the deficit to three, but several Phoenix errors helped Presbyterian extend the lead to 9-4.
 
Presbyterian maintained control at 13-7, thanks to a solo block from Williams and a service ace from Aulbaugh. However, Elon began to chip away, taking seven of the next nine points to close the gap to 15-14. The Blue Hose briefly pulled ahead again at 18-15, fueled by kills from Rowe and Williams, but Elon fought back to tie the score at 19-19.
 
The Phoenix then went on a run, taking the next three points and securing a 22-19 advantage. Presbyterian stayed within reach as Williams and Yurkovich added kills to narrow the gap to 23-21. Hutchinson added a kill and a block, allowing the blue and garnet to rattle off five straight points to claim the first set 25-23.
 
SECOND SET
Williams remained hot in the second set, opening with two kills and a pair of solo blocks, while Yurkovich added two more kills to give the Blue Hose an early 6-3 lead. However, Elon responded with an 8-2 run, leaving Presbyterian trailing 11-8.
 
Though Presbyterian reached the 10-point mark, the Phoenix continued to pull away, extending their lead to 19-10. The Blue Hose stayed competitive, outscoring Elon 6-4 down the stretch with kills from Yurkovich and Hutchinson, but ultimately the Phoenix closed out the set 25-16.
 
THIRD SET
Williams helped Presbyterian take an early lead, winning the race to three points, but Elon responded with five unanswered points to move ahead 8-3. The Blue Hose kept the deficit at five, with kills from Miller and Yurkovich, and a block from Smith and Daphnis, bringing the score to 12-7.
 
Elon continued to widen the gap, taking five of the next six points for a 17-8 lead. Presbyterian managed to pick up three more points before Elon pushed the score to 22-11. Kills from Yurkovich and Smith brought the Blue Hose to 14 points, prompting Elon to call a timeout. Despite a final kill from Yurkovich, Elon sealed the set with a 25-15 win.
 
FOURTH SET
The Blue Hose came out firing in the fourth set, scoring seven unanswered points fueled by kills from Williams, Smith, and Rowe, a block from Smith and Williams, and a pair of aces from Rowe. Although Elon managed to get two points on the board, Presbyterian quickly responded with another six-point burst, featuring three kills from Yurkovich and one each from Williams and Hutchinson, pushing the score to 13-2.
 
After some back-and-forth action, the score moved to 16-5, with Presby's points coming from kills by Yurkovich, Baranski, and Hutchinson. Elon fought back with three consecutive points, but the Blue Hose answered with a four-point run, including two kills from Rowe and a solo block by Williams, extending their lead to 20-8.
 
Though Elon managed to close the gap with a nine-point surge, making the score 23-17, Presbyterian held firm. Williams, Yurkovich, and Rowe each added a kill before another Yurkovich strike brought the Blue Hose to set point. A bad set from Elon ended the fourth set at 25-18, sending the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
FIFTH SET
Elon raced to a quick 5-1 lead in the deciding set despite an early kill from Yurkovich. Smith responded with a kill, followed by a well-placed service ace from Aulbaugh, cutting Presbyterian's deficit to two points. The teams traded the next few points, with Williams and Smith adding kills, bringing the score to 7-5 in favor of Elon.
 
After Elon took the next point, the teams switched sides, but Presbyterian clawed back with a Yurkovich kill and a service ace from Celimar Hoyos, forcing Elon to call a timeout as their lead shrank to 8-7. Presbyterian kept the momentum going with kills from Rowe and Hutchinson, tying the score at nine.
 
A pivotal block by Hutchinson and Baranski, followed by another kill from Rowe, pushed the Blue Hose ahead 11-9. However, Elon responded with a surge, taking five of the next six points to reach match point at 14-11. Presbyterian managed to grab one more point, but Elon sealed the set and match with a 15-12 victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Yurkovich finished with 16 kills at a .294 hitting percentage.
- Williams added nine kills and eight blocks.
- Baranski picked up her seventh double-double of the year with 35 assists and 16 digs.
- Rowe took nine kills and four service aces.
 
UP NEXT
The Blue Hose finish competition in the Mercer Invitational with one match tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against the host team, the Mercer Bears.