DAYTON, Tenn. – The Bryan Lady Lions volleyball team dropped a hard-fought conference match to Tennessee Wesleyan on Tuesday evening, falling 3-0 (20-25, 25-27, 20-25).
The loss drops Bryan to 2-24 overall and 1-9 in conference play, while Tennessee Wesleyan improves to 16-6 and 8-2 in conference action.
Despite the sweep, Bryan showed resilience throughout the match, particularly in the second set where they pushed the Bulldogs to extra points before falling 27-25.
Junior hitter
Bella Beard paced the Lions' attack with eight kills on 25 attempts, hitting .280 for the match – the team's best hitting percentage of the evening.
Leah Lindquist added six kills, while
Shelby Kelly contributed six kills and a team-high 11 digs.
Kaci Wade distributed 14 assists while adding eight digs and two service aces.
Maya Gipson chipped in nine assists along with eight digs in the losing effort.
The first set saw Tennessee Wesleyan jump out to an early 2-0 lead before Bryan fought back. The Bulldogs eventually pulled away late, using a decisive 9-0 run to close out the set 25-20.
The second set was the most competitive of the match. Bryan held leads at various points and had set point opportunities, but Tennessee Wesleyan's Amya Sutton proved too difficult to stop down the stretch. The Bulldogs escaped with a 27-25 victory despite Bryan's best efforts.
In the third set, Tennessee Wesleyan built a commanding 7-2 lead early and maintained control throughout. Bryan made several runs to stay competitive, cutting the deficit to three points multiple times, but couldn't complete the comeback as the Bulldogs closed out the match 25-20.
Tennessee Wesleyan hit .171 as a team compared to Bryan's .041 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs were led by Sutton's 14 kills on .333 hitting, while Nyah Hudson added eight kills on .389 hitting.
Bryan struggled with 24 attack errors compared to Tennessee Wesleyan's 19, a difference that proved crucial in the straight-set defeat.
The Lady Lions will look to regroup as they continue conference play this weekend as they host Brenau and Reinhardt.
