TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Talladega College women's volleyball team closed out Day Two of the Talladega Tournament with a split to finish the tournament 3-1 in the tournament to move to 4-4 on the season. The Tornadoes picked up a 3-1 win over Truett-McConnell University and fell a 3-0 to Point University in their second match of the day.
Talladega is back in action on Thursday, Sept. at 6 p.m. when it travels to Wilberforce, Ohio to face Wilberforce University.
Match 1: Talladega 3, Truett-McConnell 1 (15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21)
The Bears (1-7) controlled most of the opening set as they leaped to a 10-5 lead. Talladega cut the lead to three to trail 11-8 but that is as close as the Tornadoes would get before Truett-McConnell used a 14-7 run to take the set, 25-15.
Talladega wasted no time getting in front in set two as it took a 7-2 lead. The Bears clawed their way back into things as it took advantage of three attack errors while registering three kills to trail, 11-9. Both teams found themselves tied at 14 before a kill by
Franchesca Rivas gave Talladega a 15-14 lead. Her kill sparked a 4-0 run to push the Tornadoes' lead to, 18-14. The Bears though were able to put together a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set for the second time. Both teams traded points only to be tied for the third time in the set this time at 19. The Tornadoes closed the set out on a 6-1 run to win 25-20 and tie the match at one.
With the momentum on its side, Talladega took an early 5-0 lead in set three, but the Bears were able to cut the lead to two and trail, 5-3. The Tornadoes were able to push their lead to 11-6, but the Bears took advantage of two Talladega errors and a pair of kills to trail by one. Each team traded points again before three straight Tornado kills and an ace pushed the lead to, 16-11. Truett-McConnell tied the set at 19 using an 8-1 run, but Talladega used a 4-0 run to reclaim its lead and go up, 23-19. The Bears kept it close to trail 23-22 but couldn't overcome as Talladega took the set 25-23 to go up 2-1 in the match.
Looking to close things out in the fourth set, things didn't go as planned to start for Talladega as it trailed 5-2 to start. Both teams ended up tied at nine and then eight more times after that. Tied at 17, Talladega used a 3-0 run to go up 20-17, and after that never looked back as it went on to win 25-21 and take the match, 3-1.
Talladega finished with 52 digs and 49 of them had an assist.
Rivas finished with a season-high 24 kills for Talladega while hitting .377 for the match. She added 14 digs in the process. Teammate
Giovana Costarelli tallied a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs.
Briyith Echeverri led all Tornadoes with 18 digs while adding six assists of her own.
Stella Lukaszuk registered a team-high six aces while collecting 10 digs.
Match 2: Talladega 0, Point 3 (23-25, 23-25, 18-25)
Tied at two to open the first set, Point was able to take a 10-4 lead, but the Tornadoes rattled off three straight points to trail by three. The Skyhawks pushed their lead to 16-9, but Talladega used a 9-2 run to tie the set at 18 before each team traded points only to find themselves tied at 23. Point scored the next two points to take the set, 25-23.
Talladega looked to tie the match as it started set two, but both teams ended up tied at three to start the set. The Tornadoes were able to take a 5-4 lead, but the Skyhawks scored the next three points to go in front, 7-5. Talladega chipped away at the lead to tie things at eight before Point reclaimed its lead to go up, 13-9. Point was able to keep Talladega at arm's reach for most of the set as it held a 19-13 lead, but the Tornadoes were able to string together a 5-0 run to trail, 19-18. Both teams ended up tied at 20 and then traded the next three points, which allowed Talladega to claim a 22-21 lead. Point used a 3-0 run to go back in front 24-22, but a kill by Talladega's Rivas cut the lead to one. The Skyhawks closed the set out on a kill to win 25-23 and go up 2-0 in the match.
The Skyhawks looked to close things out in the third set as they grabbed a 6-2 lead. Talladega tied things at six following a 4-0 run and then took an 11-9 lead. Point wasted no time retaking the lead as it used a 10-2 run to go up, 19-13. Talladega worked to climb back but the lead was too much to overcome as Point took the set 25-18 and won the match 3-0 to improve to 7-2 on the year.
Rivas tallied a team-high 10 kills for the match for Talladega while picking up five digs. Teammate
Nuria Santos finished a team-leading 12 assists while Costarelli registered 10 of her own.
Echeverri registered 19 digs while finishing with a match-high two aces.
