SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College women's volleyball team outlasted Belmont Abbey in five sets before sweeping Erskine on Saturday, going a perfect 3-0 in the 5th Set Invitational at Goodman Arena.
Catawba 3, Belmont Abbey 2
The Ayers sisters combined for 37 kills and hit .437 in an offensive thrashing of the Crusaders (2-1). Rebekah Ayers led all Catawba (2-0) players with 19 darts, followed by Maggie Ayers' 18. Lillie Kate Rogers logged a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Camden Bizot chipped in 36 assists and had a team-high 15 digs while adding two blocks.
A back-and-forth opening set was broken up midway through by Rogers and Rebekah Ayers who tacked on a handful of kills to swing the momentum. Holding a 19-15 edge, Maggie Ayers took over in the final stretch by putting up four kills and a set-sealing ace to win the frame 25-20.
The Catawba Indians controlled the second set early, but the Crusaders rebounded to challenge for the lead. After trailing 13-12, Catawba offered a firm response with a 10-2 run featuring strikes from five different hitters. Bizot finished off the stanza with a service ace, putting Catawba ahead 2-0.
Belmont Abbey obtained an early advantage that faded as errors continued to pile. Bizot helped in a variety of forms both passing and attacking to help pump the blue and white to a 23-20 lead. However, a pair of aces down the stretch allowed the Crusaders to take the set 25-23.
Rebekah Ayers chipped in a couple of early blasts in the fourth frame, factoring into a 5-2 run to start. The Crusaders took over and pulled away midway through the stanza, cruising to a 25-17 ledger and forcing a fifth set.
The combination of Crusader miscues and kills from Rebekah Ayers and Jordan Duzenack got Catawba off to a 6-2 lead in the final frame. Belmont Abbey made it a tight one, inching back to make it 10-9. From that point, it was all Ayers as Rebekah added three kills along with Maggie's two to speed past the visitors in 15-10 fashion.
Catawba 3, Erskine 0
The Catawba Indians (3-0) blitzed Erskine (1-2) for a .417 hitting percentage and 11 service aces. At the forefront of Catawba's offensive prowess was Maggie Ayers as the rookie landed 13 kills on 25 swings. Maddie Henning put on a strong display defensively with four blocks and four digs. Ali Rose ripped a team-high four aces and tallied six digs. Rogers and Riley Hill also chipped in multiple aces with three and two, respectively.
Catawba fell behind early in the first stanza but recovered quickly, rolling to an 8-1 run to boast a 17-10 lead. Two late kills from Alani Kincaid were instrumental in kicking off a separate 7-2 slide to close the set at 25-14.
The match continued to be defined by runs as Rogers went kill-ace, then had another ace before Maggie Ayers smashed two kills. Rogers landed another ace — her third in six rallies — to complete a seven-point surge. Henning had a hand in two blocks to cap a blowout 25-9 frame.
Madi McIlwain turned in two kills and a block assist during a neck-and-neck start to set three. With the Flying Fleet closing in on a Catawba lead, the Ayers twins went back-to-back with kills as Rose fired consecutive aces to make it 17-12. Erskine made it interesting, however, cutting the gap at 24-all. A Maggie Ayers kill and another Rose ace halted the optimism as Catawba held on for the sweep.
UP NEXT
Looking to remain unbeaten, the Catawba Indians hit the road on Wednesday, Sept. 2, for a 6 p.m. first serve at Shaw.
