Hawks Taken Down By Asbury, Rebound With Victory Over Piedmont

WILMORE, Ky.- Resuming CCS action following their loss at Berea, Huntingdon Volleyball moved to 13-11 overall on the season and 5-3 in conference play, falling to Asbury 3-0 before recovering with a 3-1 neutral-site victory over Piedmont.

Match One v. Asbury

The Eagles set the tone in their 3-0 victory early, claiming the first set 25-15. Asbury saw their best hitting percentage for the entire match come in the opening set, recording 12 kills and just 2 errors as they took the 1-0 advantage. Kills from Lindsey Holland and Morgan Suggs put the Hawks up early 4-2, but the Eagles responded in a big way, going on a run to capture a 7-6 lead before extending it to 21-11 coming down the stretch. 

Huntingdon battled back in the second set, picking up a match-high of 13 kills, but ultimately fell behind 2-0 with a 27-25 loss. Asbury made the most of the Hawks 9 errors, securing 15 kills of their own as they cemented their control with a two-set lead. Led by Aly Harris, the Hawks shot out of the gates to lead 5-2, remaining in control 9-8, but the Eagles stormed back to take a 17-16 lead midway through the set. The two squads traded blows coming down the stretch, but a late Huntingdon error proved to be the difference. 

Closing the match out in three sets, Asbury put the Hawks away 25-22. Huntingdon led early following an Aly Harris kill, but the Eagles responded by grabbing the lead 6-4, and never looked back, remaining in control to close out the set and hand the Hawks their first conference loss since their match against Covenant on September 27th. 

Match Two v. Piedmont

Aiming to avenge their prior loss to Asbury, the Hawks defeated Piedmont 25-11 in the opening set, making way for Huntingdon's 3-1 victory. The Hawks were soaring at the net throughout the entire set, securing 18 kills to go with just two errors for a hitting percentage of 0.485; limiting Piedmont to just 7 kills with 5 errors as they grabbed the 1-0 lead. Led by a trio of Aly Harris, Morgan Suggs, and A'Kirra McElveen, the Hawks led from end to end, going in front by as much as 18-6 en route to the set victory. 

The second set saw more of the same, as Huntingdon walked away with a 25-9 victory. Boosted by another exemplary offensive showing that featured 19 kills and 2 errors, the Hawks yet again led from wire-to-wire, seeing kills from 6 different Hawks( Morgan Suggs, A'Kirra McElveen, Lily VanDyke, Aly Harris, Cheyenne Ashworth, Molly Wilson) to go ahead 11-1 before cementing their control, 2-0. 

Not to be outdone however, Piedmont roared back to claim the third set 25-23. The two teams traded blows throughout, but boosted by 6 Huntingdon errors, the Lions recorded a match-high 13 kills to cut the Huntingdon lead to 2-1. 

Closing out the match in four sets, the Hawks claimed a 25-18 final set victory. Remaining efficient at the net with 14 kills and 5 errors, Huntingdon led from end-to-end yet again in their fifth conference victory. Lily VanDyke led the way for Huntingdon, securing three kills in the Hawks final 7-0 run to close things out. 

Hawk Top Performers

• #9 Aly Harris- 20 kills, 4 digs
• #28 Morgan Suggs- 15 kills, 8 digs
• #33 Cheyenne Ashworth- 12 kills, 8 digs
• #10 A'Kirra McElveen- 8 kills, 3 digs

The Hawks return to action on Wednesday, October 15th, traveling to face MUW. Gametime is set for 6:00 PM CT.