GREENEVILLE, TENN. – The Chowan Volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to start the season at the SAC Crossover hosted by Tusculum on Friday.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 1, Mars Hill 3 (26-24, 10-25, 14-25, 16-25)

FINAL | Chowan 0, Tusculum 3 (16-25, 14-25, 12-25)

RECORDS | Chowan 0-2, Mars Hill 1-0, Tusculum 1-0

LOCATION | Greeneville, Tenn.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Micayla Pope dished out 37 assists and 19 digs on the day.  Pope notched a double-double with 22 assists and 14 digs in the loss to Mars Hill.

Alyssa Born finished with 28 digs as the libero.

Kayla Gates led the Hawks offensively with 10 kills.  Sydney Hiner and Breona Young notched nine kills each.  Young also posted 5.0 rejections with two solo blocks and three assisted blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Chowan 1, Mars Hill 3 (26-24, 10-25, 14-25, 16-25)

1^st Set:

Mars Hill opened the match on a 6-0 run before kills by Sydney Hiner, Breona Young, and Milica Vejnovic gave the Hawks an 8-7 lead.  Two service aces by Courtney O'Keefe and a kill by Vejnovic forced a timeout by the Lions, 11-7.

The two teams would battle back and forth following the stoppage swapping the two point lead.  Milica Vejnovic evened the set at 20-all.  Courtney O'Keefe's service ace and a kill by Raven Finley-Flowers would allow the Hawks to take the opening set 26-24.

2^nd Set:

The second set would start like the end of the first set with both teams trading points.  Kayla Gates would start off the attack for the Hawks followed by a kill by Courtney O'Keefe.

Kayla Gates and Micayla Pope halt a small run by the Lions trailing 13-7 midway through the set.

The momentum did not stop for the Lions as the MHU opened the set up to 20-7.  Sydney Hiner tallied the first kill for the Hawks in the set since 7-5.  The Lions would take the set 25-10.

3^rd Set:

Micayla Pope opened the set with a service ace followed by a kill by Raven Finley-Flowers and another ace by Kayla Gates.  Breona Young kept the Hawks ahead 5-4 after a kill, but the Lions would regain the lead with four straight points.

Raven Finley-Flowers closed the gap to 13-10 but the Lions would push the advantage to 17-11.  Finley-Flowers and Milica Vejnovic registered a block before MHU took the set 25-14.

4^th Set:

Kills by Breona Young, Milica Vejnovic, and Sydney Hiner paced the offense early in the set, leading Mars Hill 6-4.

The Lions would take a hold of the set with a 12-2 run pushing the contest to 19-9.  Milica Vejnovic and Sydney Hiner registered a kill each to end the set falling 25-16.

Chowan 0, Tusculum 3 (16-25, 14-25, 12-25)

1^st Set:

Chowan would start off the match slow grabbing a kill by Kayla Gates down 6-1.  The Hawks would close the gap to 10-6 with a kill by Milica Vejnovic, Breona Young, and Courtney O'Keefe.

Tusculum doubled up the Hawks, 19-9, forcing a timeout.  Out of the timeout, Kayla Gates and Milica Vejnovic picked up kills.

Sydney Hiner picked up the final four points for the Hawks in the set with a pair of kills and a pair of service aces as the Pioneers took the set 25-16.

2^nd Set:

The Pioneers started the set on a 7-3 run before Kayla Gates and miscues closed the gap to 8-6.  Tusculum would go on a 9-2 run to take hold of the set, 17-8.  Breona Young picked up a kill during the lull.

Kayla Gates registered a service ace and Breona Young tallied a kill before the Pioneers took the set 25-14.

3^rd Set:

Chowan trailed in the third set 11-3 before Raven Finley-Flowers registered the first kill for the Hawks.  The Pioneers continued to push their lead to 17-7 before Sydney Hiner picked up the second kill of the set.

Tusculum held the Hawks at-bay in the set with Raven Finley-Flowers notching the third and final kill of the set trailing 24-12.

UP NEXT

Chowan returns to the court on Saturday, September 1 as the Hawks head to Harrogate, Tenn. to face Lincoln Memorial in the final contest of the SAC Crossover.  Match is scheduled for 12pm.