CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Brevard College volleyball team closed out the 2014 season on a two-match winning streak as the Tornados earned a four-set victory over Queens in conference play on Saturday afternoon in Charlotte.
The Tornados (12-17, 6-16 SAC) ended their season with wins over Catawba and Queens (6-25, 3-13 SAC) in its last two contests, moving into the offseason on a positive note after being held winless for nearly a month in the second half of the conference slate. Brevard will be unaffected by attrition this offseason, losing no players to graduation as it prepares for the 2015 season.
Junior outside hitter Fatima Gharachorloo led the Tornados with 22 kills, the second-highest single-match performance of her career. The Mississauga, Ontario native hit .280 with eight errors in 50 attempts. No other player in the match recorded more than 12 terminations.
She did the bulk of her damage in the fourth set, recording nine of Brevard's 15 kills in the frame to lead the Tornados to a match-clinching 25-23 win. Brevard reached match point on a Royals' attack error, but Queens reeled off six consecutive points to pull within one at 24-23. Gharachorloo, however, ensured that the match would not need a fifth set, recording her final kill to give Brevard the win.
Setter Erin Barr paced the Tornados' offense with 32 assists and 10 digs, while libero Aleksandra Vrvilo collected 21 digs. Gharachorloo, Whitney DeMoss, and Rachel Ruble each recorded three assisted blocks, while Ruble added a solo stuff to her total. The Royals were led by Meredith Jones's 12 kills.
Brevard hit .231 en route to a 25-17 first-set win, but were limited to a .000 hitting percentage in the second set as Queens returned the favor with a 25-19 victory.
In the third set, the match was deadlocked at 10 before Brevard seized the lead with three consecutive points coming out of a timeout. The Tornados eventually forced a Queens timeout as they stretched their lead to 17-13 on a Bri Vargas service ace. Brevard was able to keep the Royals at bay for the rest of the set, scoring four of the final five points on their way to a 25-18 result.
With the win, Brevard ends its season with two consecutive victories. The Tornados finish in ninth place in the South Atlantic Conference standings, three games behind Mars Hill for the eighth and final bid to the conference tournament in Hickory, North Carolina next week.
Featured image courtesy of Neil Hayes. Click here to view more photos by Neil.
