COLUMBUS, Ga. - After suffering its first loss of the season on Friday at the hands of Erskine, Brevard rediscovered the key to its early-season success on Saturday with an impressive defensive performance in a sweeps over Pfeiffer and Georgia College in the final day of the Cougar Invitational hosted by Columbus State University.
Brevard never allowed the Falcons to hit above .000 in a single set en route to holding the Falcons to a -.056 hitting percentage for the match, marking the second time this season the Tornados have held an opponent to a subzero attack percentage. Georgia College didn't fare much better, managing to hit just .085 on the afternoon.
The match with Georgia College was interrupted for exactly one hour with Brevard trailing Georgia College 19-17 in the third set as dense moisture condensed on the floor of the Lumpkin Center. After a discussion with tournament officials, coaches elected to move the match across the street to Columbus State's Student Recreation Center.
Leading the match 2-0, the Tornados avoided a fourth set by staging a comeback to win 28-26 and earn the second sweep of the day. Brevard scored consecutive points on a Hannah Elmore kill and a Bobcats' attack error after the teams were deadlocked four times down the stretch.
The Tornados took wins by scores of 25-17 and 25-16 in the first two sets. Setter Erin Barr had a phenomenal match, finishing three kills shy of a triple-double. She had seven kills and three blocks to go with her 33 assists and 18 digs. Maggie Weiss had a career-high four aces, while Savannah Cox had seven kills in 15 errorless attempts and a pair of aces, digs, and blocks. Aleksandra Vrvilo finished with eight assists and 25 digs from her libero position.
Against Pfeiffer, Whitney DeMoss and Savannah Cox each had a trio of blocks as the Tornados totaled 7.0 team stuffs. DeMoss also paced the Brevard offense, compiling ten kills, one from her career high that she set in Friday night's loss to Erskine.
The first set was close through much of the early going before a Kristen Rathbun kill sparked a 10-3 run that allowed the Tornados to take the first set 25-16. Brevard picked up in the second set right where it had left off, scoring 10 of the first 11 points en route to building a 23-11 advantage. Undeterred, the Falcons scored on a Brevard attack error, sparking a 10-1 run that forced a Tornados' timeout with the lead at just 24-21. DeMoss ended the set with a kill, however, to give Brevard the victory.
DeMoss then took over the third set. With the score knotted at six, she notched a kill off one of Erin Barr's 27 assists, then got another termination on a free ball at the net. She and Cox combined for a block before another free ball led to another kill. Brevard would go on to win the set 25-12, scoring 19 of the final 25 points to pull away from the Falcons. DeMoss had two blocks and was a perfect 4-for-4 on the attack without an error in the third set, leading the Tornados to a .385 attack percentage with 14 kills in the frame.
Brevard next takes to the floor on Tuesday night in the home opener against Anderson. First serve for the opening match of the conference slate is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
