LEBANON, Tenn. – Volleyball got back on the winning side of the scoreboard Thursday evening as the Bears pulled out a five-game win on the road at Cumberland University in Mid-South Conference action. After a tough opening set, the Bears (5-4, 2-3 MSC) held a 2-1 lead after the third game but needed a final decisive set to finish off the victory against the Bulldogs (8-4, 2-3 MSC).
After arriving at the gym around 30 minutes before the scheduled first serve due to some travel difficulties, luck still did not appear to be in Shawnee State's favor when the Bulldogs ripped off eight straight service points to start the game. The Bears took a timeout and regrouped to get the score back to 11-9 and stayed with two as late as 15-13 but could never come all the way back in the opening set, falling 25-18.
Despite a dominant 25-13 second game win, the Bears only held a slight 10-8 advantage early on the second. However, the Bears would take seven of the next of the next nine points to take a 17-10 lead. After opposing side-outs made it 18-11, Kirsti Yates took to the service line and put her team up 23-11 before they eventually tied the match at one game each with a pair of side-outs from each squad.
The third game saw CU go up 4-0 before SSU ran off four straight points to tie the game. The Bears would never look back in that game after taking a 7-6 lead despite with the six-point differential in the 25-19 game being the largest for either side in that game as the Bears took a 2-1 lead.
The games just seemed to get tighter as the match wore on and the fourth would be no different. After watching the sides go back-and-forth as it was tied five times before either side could reach 13 points, the Bulldogs took a 16-12 lead which would be the largest of the game for either side. However, the Bears would turn that deficit completely around with seven straight points with Bonnie Huesing on the service line to make it 19-16. Unfortunately for the Bears, the last momentum swing went the way of CU as the Bulldogs ran off eight straight points to take a 22-19 lead before closing out the 25-21 game.
The fifth and decisive game saw six ties with the final coming at 7-7. The Bears would take their largest lead of the game by taking three of the next four points to make it 11-8; however, the Bulldogs brough the score back 11-10. The Bears would grow their lead back to three at 13-10 and 14-11 before clinching the match with a kill from Paige Zelich, a 15-12 margin in the final game.
Zelich's final kill of the evening would be her team-leading 14th of the match. Ashley Galbraith and Lauren Helbig would also finish 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Both of SSU's primary setters recorded 20-plus assists as Hannah Gephart tallied 29 helpers while Huesing added 21 assists.
Defensively, the Bears has a pair of players record 10-plus digs as Carly Mazza kept 15 CU kill attempts alive while Madison Smith added 10 digs. The Bears also recorded nine blocks in the match, including a team-high six (all block assists) from Kristi Humble.
After an adventurous first day in Tennessee, volleyball will spend two more days at Cumberland as part of the Bulldogs' Volleydawg Classic. Tomorrow, SSU will take on Fisk (2 p.m.) and Lindenwood (4 p.m.).
