DAYTON, Tenn. – The Bryan College volleyball team gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about Tuesday night, battling back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Oakwood University in a thrilling five-set match inside Summers Gymnasium.
The Lady Lions captured the victory 26-24, 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-8 to improve to 3-1 on the young season.
Bryan opened the night with a tightly contested first set. Neither side was able to create much separation down the stretch, with the score tied at 24-24. The Lady Lions took advantage of back-to-back Oakwood errors to secure the opening frame, 26-24.
Oakwood responded in the next two sets. Bryan held a 19-14 advantage during the second before the Ambassadors closed the frame on an 11-1 run to take it 25-20. Oakwood carried the momentum into the third, again winning 25-20 to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Lions delivered their best volleyball of the night.
Bryan took control early in the fourth set, turning a 3-3 tie into an 11-4 advantage. The Lady Lions continued to apply pressure throughout the frame and pulled away for a convincing 25-16 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
The momentum stayed with Bryan in the fifth. After Oakwood grabbed a 2-1 advantage, the Lady Lions answered with five consecutive points to surge ahead 6-2. Bryan never surrendered the lead from there.
Shelby Kelly helped put the match away with a dominant closing stretch, recording five kills after the teams changed sides, before
Kaci Wade delivered an ace on match point to finish off the 15-8 victory.
Kelly led the Bryan attack with a match-high 15 kills while adding 18 digs for a double-double.
Bella Rollins provided a major spark with 11 kills in three sets, while
Grace Bestler finished with 10 kills and
Maddison Seabolt added nine.
Ella Wheatcroft chipped in six kills.
Wade directed the offense with 45 assists to go along with six digs, three kills and an ace. Defensively, Kelly's 18 digs led the Lady Lions, while
Jaylynn Bullock and
Avery Baxter each collected 13. Bryan also recorded eight service aces in the match.
One of the biggest differences came late in the match, as Bryan's offense found its rhythm. After hitting just -.029 in the second set, the Lady Lions hit .303 in the fourth and .280 in the fifth. Bryan finished the night with 62 kills and 56 assists while hitting .178 as a team.
The victory gave Bryan a memorable win in its first home appearance of the season. They will hit the road to compete in the Faulkner Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
