ATHENS, Tenn. - IU Southeast volleyball went 1-1 in a road tri-match with Tennessee Wesleyan and UT-Southern Friday. The Grenadiers fell to TWU before earning their first win of the season over UT-Southern in game two.
The Grenadiers are 1-2 on the season and will be back in action in Montgomery, Ala., for the Faulkner Invitational next Friday and Saturday.
"First weekend under our belt and excited to get back to practice tomorrow," said Head Coach Taylor Wilson-Evanczyk. "We have a lot to work on, and we know for us to compete, we must bring it every single day."
Game 1: Tennessee Wesleyan 3, IU Southeast 0
Tennessee Wesleyan opened the match scoring nine of the first 12 points. Later, the Grenadiers battled back, but TWU closed out set one on a 7-4 run to take a 1-0 match lead.
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off in set two. TWU jumped out to an early lead and kept the momentum going throughout the set, winning 25-19 and taking a 2-0 match lead.
IU Southeast battled back in set three but came up just short. The Grenadiers made a push, but the Bulldogs would take set three and win the match 3-0.
Nicole Stratford led the Grenadier attack with 11 kills, followed by Jordan Vaughan and Raegan Glover with eight each. Carly Mason had game highs in both assists (33) and digs (13).
Game 2: IU Southeast 3, UT-Southern 1
After falling behind 5-1 early in set one, IU Southeast scored 19 of the next 27 points. The Firehawks rallied to tie the set, but back-to-back kills by Avynn Belding and Stratford gave the Grenadiers a win in set one.
The Firehawks got off to another fast start in set two. UT-Southern maintained a four-point lead for most of the set, until the Grenadiers rallied to cut the lead to two late. Despite the rally, the Firehawks pulled away to tie the match score at 1-1.
IU Southeast held a slim lead throughout most of the third set, until pulling away midway through. After UT-Southern tied the set at 14-14, IU Southeast scored four straight points, and nine of the next 13. The Grenadiers used the rally to take set three and a 2-1 match lead.
UT-Southern got off to another hot start in set four, breaking out to a 9-4 lead. Just like in set one, IU Southeast, led by Stratford and Belding, went on a 12-6 run to take a 16-15 lead. Later, with the score deadlocked at 24-24, a Firehawk serving error and a kill by Glover gave the Grenadiers a 26-24 set victory and their first victory of the season.
Stratford finished the match with a game-high 19 kills and recorded double-digit kills in all three games this season. Stratford also had a game-high 23 digs to lead the Grenadier defense. Mason recorded 34 assists, freshman DS Ellery Warnock recorded four serving aces, and Glover had 3.0 blocks.
