AIKEN, S.C. - Facing two of the top three ranked teams in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Volleyball poll on day one of the Pacers Invitational, Lander came away with two wins. The Bearcats defeated previously undefeated Francis Marion 3-1 in match one and edged North Greenville 3-2 in match two.
Match One
The Bearcats led most of the first set, and a service ace by Katie Miller gave Lander an 18-15 lead. The Patriots answered with four straight points to take their first lead of the set. Their lead was short-lived as the Bearcats took advantage of a service error and got a kill by Christina Aguayo and a service ace from Patricia Pantoja to lead 21-19. However, the Patriots ran off six-straight points to take a 25-21 victory.
Trailing 3-2 in the second set, freshman Halle Michael took a pass from Madilyn Reed to tie the set up at three. Miller then picked up back-to-back kills to make it 5-3, and Michael dropped in a service ace to give Lander a three-point lead. Later in the set, Miller again had back-to-back kills to make the score 11-5. A kill by Reed closed out the set as the Bearcats cruised to a 25-14 win to even the match.
The Patriots responded in the third set with four-straight points to start the set. They would build a 12-6 lead in the middle of the set, but three-straight kills from Miller, Michael, and Pantoja cut the deficit to three. The Bearcats continued to battle back, and a block by Maya Walker and Miller ended a run of five-straight points to give Lander a 15-14 lead. Leading 19-17, the Bearcats would score six of the final eight points to take a 25-19 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
After falling behind 1-0 in the fourth set, Lander would never trail again as they held on for a 25-21 win to clinch the victory over their former conference rival and snapped a three-match losing streak to the Patriots.
Miller led all players with a career-high 25 kills while hitting .364. Aguayo added 11 kills and 20 digs for her first double-double of the season, and Halle had ten kills. Reed dished out a game-high 44 assists, and Pantoja had 19 digs. Miller also led the Bearcats with three service aces.
Match Two
The Bearcats dropped the first set 25-22 to North Greenville to start the match. Trailing 7-4 in the second set, the Bearcats used a kill by Miller, a Crusader attack error, and a service ace from Aguayo to tie the game. The Crusaders answered with four-straight points to make it 11-7. Trailing 23-17, Lander ended the set on an 8-0 run to take the win and even the match at one.
The Bearcats again used a long run in the third set to take a commanding lead. Down 9-6, Lander again scored eight unanswered points to take a 14-9 lead. The Bearcats would not look back at they took a 25-20 victory to make it a 2-1 match.
North Greenville would squeeze out a 25-23 win in the fourth set to force a fifth and deciding set. The two teams battled back and forth, but Lander pulled away late to take a 15-12 victory to clinch their second win of the day.
The Bearcats had four different players finish the match with a double-double. Miller again set a career-high with 29 kills to go with 13 digs for her first career double-double. Reed finished the match with a season-high 57 assists and 15 digs, while Aguayo had 14 kills and 16 digs. Michael added 14 kills and 11 digs, while Pantoja led all players with 33 digs. Walker finished the match with a match-high five blocks.
The Bearcats wrap up the Pacers Invitational tomorrow against Mount Olive at 10:00 am and Auburn University of Montgomery at 3:00 pm.
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