MONTGOMERY, Ala. - IU Southeast volleyball split on day one of the Faulkner Invitational. The Grenadiers swept Talladega and then fell 3-1 to Bryan College.
With Friday's results, the Grenadiers are 2-3 on the season. The Grenadiers will take the court again tomorrow, taking on tournament host Faulkner at 12 p.m. EST, then No. 22 Mobile at 4:00 p.m. EST.
Game 1: IU Southeast 3, Talladega 0
IU Southeast scored the first six points of the match, and 11 of the first 14. Later in the set, Talladega cut the lead to 18-12 after a 3-0 run. The Grenadiers slammed the door shut on Tornadoes' comeback big with a 7-0 run to close out the set, capped off by a serving ace by Ella Davidson.
Set two saw the Grenadiers score ten of the first 15 points, and the Grenadiers led by as much as 11. Talladega made push late in the set after scoring five straight points, but it was too little too late. IU Southeast ended the set after a kill by Maddie Adams, an ace by Esther Woodward, and a kill by Raegan Glover.
Leading 2-0, IU Southeast was challenged by Talladega in set three. The Tornadoes tied the score late after going on a 11-5 run. With the scored tied at 20-20, IU Southeast scored five of the last six points, and freshman Kylea Donoho ended it with a kill.
Raegan Glover led IU Southeast's attack with nine kills, followed by Nicole Stratford and Avynn Belding with seven each. Carly Mason led IU Southeast in assists (19) and serving aces (5). As a team, the Grenadiers recorded 16 serving aces.
Game 2: Bryan 3, IU Southeast 1
IU Southeast was locked in a tight battle with Bryan in set one. Despite sending the set past 25, the Lions ultimately prevailed, defeating the Grenadiers 27-25. IU Southeast leveled the match score in set two, edging out a 25-23 victory and knotting the score at 1-1. Despite winning set two, the Grenadiers would fall 25-18 in set three, then were defeated 25-17 in set four.
Stratford and Belding had a game-high 15 kills each and Mason had 41 assists. Stratford also led IU Southeast with three aces, 17 digs, and tied with Glover and Belding with two blocks each.
