Hawks Fall To Asbury, Take Down Piedmont In 5

WILMORE, Kentucky- Traveling to Asbury University for a CCS tri-match, Huntingdon volleyball(8-16 overall, 4-4 CCS) split matches, first falling to Asbury(12-4 overall, 7-0 CCS) 3-1, but recovering to defeat the Piedmont Lions(3-11 overall, 3-4 CCS) 3-2.

Game one vs Asbury

To open their match against Asbury, the Hawks dropped the first set 25-18. Getting things going with a 5-0 run, Asbury jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, capitalizing on 8 Huntingdon errors while recording 14 kills to claim a 1-0 advantage.

Building off their first set momentum, the Eagles also claimed the second set 25-21. The Hawks claimed an early lead, with two kills from Izzy Valldeperas giving Huntingdon a 3-1 advantage that grew to as much as 11-7. A 3-0 run Asbury run brought the score to 11-10, with a seperate 5-0 run giving the Eagles their first lead of the set 15-14. Valldeperas would earn another kill to spark a Huntingdon run that gave the Hawks a 18-16 lead, but a late 6-1 run from the Eagles would give Asbury the lead throughout the duration of the set, putting the Eagles ahead 2-0.

Facing a 3-0 loss, the Hawks rallied to claim the third set 33-31. Asbury jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, but a kill from Morgan Suggs sparked a 3-1 Huntingdon run that brought the score to 8-7. After a small run from the Eagles, an ace from Jessi Hilyer tied the set a 11, with three consecutive Asbury errors giving the Hawks their first lead 21-19. With Lily VanDyke putting Huntingdon ahead 23-21, Asbury opened up a 4-2 run to even the score at 25. The two teams would trade points over the next 5 serves, with Izzy Valldeperas recording 3 kills in the final 4 points to give Huntingdon the set victory.

To close out the match, Asbury took the fourth set 26-24. Huntingdon battled, with Lindsey Holland and Aly Harris spearheading the Hawks' attack to 10 kills, but the Eagles stayed stride-for-stride with the Hawks, going on a 7-0 run to close the set and take the match.

Game two vs Piedmont

Looking to bounce back from their opening match loss, the Hawks won the opening set against Piedmont 26-24. Following a kill from Morgan Suggs, the Hawks looked at an early 5-2 lead. The Lions battled back, bringing the score to 11-10 before opening up a 3-0 run to go ahead 13-11. Not to be outdone, Lindsey Holland and Lily VanDyke led the Hawks on a run to reclaim the lead 15-13. Going ahead, the Hawks never looked back, with a bad set from the Lions putting Huntingdon ahead 1-0.

In response, Piedmont took the second set 25-18. Huntingdon jumped out to an early 5-1 lead following a kill from Aly Harris, but the Lions roared back to take a 9-7 lead. Boosted by 11 kills, Piedmont never looked back, evening the match 1-1.

Building off of their second set momentum, Piedmont also claimed the third set 25-13. Similar to the second set, a kill from Jessi Hilyer put the Hawks ahead 10-6. The Lions battled back, opening up a 10-0 run to claim a 16-10 lead. The Hawks tried responding, with Lindsey Holland spiking one over the net to bring the score to 17-12, but a 8-1 run from the Lions put Huntingdon away.

Not to be outdone, the Hawks flipped the script in the fourth set, taking a 25-13 victory of their own. Led by Aly Harris, the Hawks took an 8-1 lead early in the set, growing their lead to as much as 15-5. Piedmont tried to respond, but back-to-back kills from Eva Ellenburg and Lindsey Holland gave the Hawks the set and forced a fifth set to determine the match.

To claim the match, Huntingdon walked away with a 15-8 lead. Led by a trio of Izzy Valldeperas, Morgan Suggs, and Lindsey Holland, the Hawks recorded 9 kills while only committing 1 error to take the 3-2 victory.

Hawk Top Performers

• #21 Izzy Valldeperas- 14 kills, 8 digs
• #18 Lindsey Holland- 9 kills, 1 dig
• #22 Eva Ellenburg- 4 kills, 15 digs
• #9 Aly Harris- 8 kills, 6 digs

The Hawks return to action on October 16th, traveling to take on the Panthers of LaGrange College. Gametime is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.