HICKORY, N.C. - The Brevard College Volleyball team pulled off a thriller in Hickory, N.C. as the Tornados knocked of the South Atlantic Conference No.2 preseason selection the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears by a final for 3-2.
"I'm very proud of how the team grinded out a win tonight," said head coach Anna Wagner. "It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win."
With the win the Tornados improve to 2-1 overall in conference play as the win also marked the first time that Brevard has beaten the Bears since joining the NCAA Division II ranks back in the 2008-09 season.
Freshman Callie Chappell (Rosman, N.C) led the Tornados offensively accounting for 17 kills for the match to go along with 13 digs and one block assist. Junior Hannah Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) also finished with double digit kills in the historic win, as the outside hitter racked up 14 kills.
Junior setter Erin Barr (Hamptonville, N.C.) turned in another masterful performance for the blue and white as the BC all-time assists leader finished with a game high 37 assists, while scooping up seven digs and contributing a block assist to the team effort.
Additionally, senior libero Aleksandra Vrvilo (Beaverton, Ore.) racked up a game high 32 digs, as the Brevard College all-time digs leader kept the Bears attack off the boards on numerous occasions throughout the matchup.
Brevard would open the evening hitting .303 in the beginning frame, as the Tornados never trailed the entire first set, roaring out to a 7-2 lead before the Bears were able to tie the opening frame at 17-17. Brevard would end the point on an 8-3 run, however, as three kills by Elmore helped open the Tornados lead.
Lenoir-Rhyne would control the entire second set, cruising to a 25-9 point to even the match up at 1-1. While, the Tornados would get back on track in the third match point as they lead the entire point to go up 2-1 on the evening, as Chappell and Elmore finished the set with four kills apiece.
The fourth frame of the evening would be all Bears as they rallied to tie the contest at 2-2 to force a deciding fifth and final set. However, similar to the Tornados victory Friday evening against Catawba, Brevard would open the final point on a 10-4 run before finishing off Lenoir-Rhyne by a final of 15-8.
The Tornados will look to make it three consecutive SAC wins this coming weekend as they travel to Tusculum September 16 followed by Mars Hill the next as both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 and 2 p.m., respectively.
