MIDWAY, Ky. -- The Midway women's volleyball team opened River States Conference play on Friday night, falling to Brescia University in three sets inside Marshall Gymnasium.
The Bearcats (7-6, 1-0 RSC) took the match by scores of 25-15, 26-24 and 25-21, dropping the Eagles to 2-11 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Brescia jumped out to a quick start in the opening set, scoring the first five points before Midway was able to get on the board with a kill from Alyssa Medeiros. The Bearcats maintained control from there and used another run midway through the frame to build their advantage before taking the opener, 25-15.
The Eagles responded with a much stronger showing in the second set. After trailing 16-13, Midway battled back behind kills from Nyla Gaines and Medeiros before a Danica Clark service ace gave the Eagles an 18-17 advantage.
Midway continued to build momentum, eventually taking a 22-19 lead following consecutive kills from Mayson Delong. Brescia answered with four straight points to regain the advantage, but Delong came through again with a kill to even the frame at 24 apiece.
The Bearcats, however, scored the final two points to escape with a 26-24 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Midway again put itself in position to extend the match in the third set. After falling behind 7-3, the Eagles responded with an 8-0 stretch that featured a service ace from Aaliyah Lawler and a pair of kills from Medeiros, giving Midway an 11-7 advantage.
Neither side was able to create much separation from there. The teams battled to ties at 12, 14, 15, 18, 19 and 20 before Brescia finally gained some breathing room late. With the score tied at 20, the Bearcats scored five of the final six points to close out the set, 25-21, and secure the sweep.
Despite the result, Midway finished just two kills behind Brescia, 40-38, while holding a 42-36 advantage in digs. The Eagles also recorded six service aces on the night.
Medeiros paced the Midway attack with 11 kills, while Delong added 10 kills on an efficient .444 hitting percentage. Gaines chipped in six kills while hitting .357.
Mayme Powell led the setting effort with 17 assists to go along with five digs, while Peyton Osteen finished with 12 assists and six digs. Marlee Laycock led the Eagles at the service line with two aces.
Defensively, Blair Riney led Midway with 12 digs, while Lawler added seven.
Brescia was led offensively by Callie Mason, who finished with a match-high 13 kills. The Bearcats hit .310 as a team compared to .180 for the Eagles.
UP NEXT:
Midway will go on the road for their next two contests starting with Union Commonwealth on Wednesday night. They return to Marshall Gymasium in September 22 when they host Alice LLoyd at 7:00 PM.
About Midway University Athletics
Midway University competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and its 29 athletics teams are part of the River States Conference, Mid-South Conference, the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, and USA Archery. For more information about Midway University Athletics, please visitÂ
www.gomidwayeagles.com or contactÂ
Tyler Beck at 859-846-5366
