UPLAND, Ind. - IU Southeast volleyball fell to Pikeville and Lawrence Tech on day one of the AMF Memorial Tournament hosted by Taylor University Friday.
IU Southeast drops to 3-6 following Friday's losses to the Bears and the Blue Devils. The Grenadiers will be back in action bright and early for day two, facing Huntington University at 8:00 a.m.
Game 1: Pikeville 3, IU Southeast 0
Pikeville jumped out to big leads in all three sets, and the Grenadiers were never able to recover from the early deficits they faced. The closest IU Southeast came in set two. Pikeville jumped to a 7-2 lead, then the Grenadiers scored four of the next five points to cut the Bears' lead to 8-6. That is as close as they would get in that set, however. The Bears won sets two and three by scores of 25-13.
Avynn Belding led IU Southeast with six kills. Carly Mason recorded 11 assists, and Ella Davidson led the Grenadiers' back line with 11 digs.
Game 2: Lawrence Tech 3, IU Southeast 2
Set one saw the Grenadiers erase a four-point deficit midway through the set. The Grenadiers went from trailing 18-14, to winning the set 25-22 and taking a 1-0 lead in the match. In the next set, with IU Southeast leading 14-13, the Grenadiers went on a 11-7 run to close out the set and take a 2-0 match lead over the Blue Devils.
Lawrence Tech would battle back, however. The Blue Devils went on a 9-1 run early in the third set and cruised to a 25-19 victory in set three. In the fourth set, the Blue Devils erased a 15-11 deficit and went on a 14-4 run to force a fifth set.
IU Southeast scored three in a row to go up 8-6 in the fifth, but the Blue Devils battled back once again. Lawrence Tech went on a 9-3 run to close out set five and a 3-2 match victory.
Mason led the Grenadiers in assists (53), digs (21) and serving aces (6). Belding led IU Southeast with 21 kills, Nicole Stratford was second with 17, and Esther Woodward recorded ten kills.
