MISENHEIMER, N.C. - The Brevard College volleyball team (5-7, 2-0 USA South) used a dominant fifth set to earn a USA South Conference road win over Pfeiffer (1-10, 0-4 USAS), 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 12-25, 15-8) on Wednesday evening at Merner Gym.
After the Tornados went up 2-0 in the match, the Falcons stormed back to take sets three and four, sending the match to a decisive fifth set where BC stormed to a 15-8 triumph.
The victory marks BC's second USA South five-set win of the season.
Caroline Moon drove home a team-best 16 kills, while Emma Fontana also reached double figures with 10. Izzy Boulay (20 assists) and Madison Warren (15 assists) reached double-digit assist totals, while Gianna Borcich (23 digs) and Rowan Raney (20 digs) paced the defense.
BC opened up a three-point lead midway through the first set, 12-9, but Pfeiffer kept pace, retaking the lead, 16-14. With the Falcons up by two, 20-18, BC scored three of the next four points to tie things back up at 21-all. A crucial service ace by Ariel Rieck put BC up by one late, and the Falcons were denied at the end by a double-block from BC's Fontana and Elly McClough, as the Tornados took the first set by two, 25-23.
The Tornados surged ahead in the second set, 11-6, forcing a Pfeiffer timeout. BC pushed its lead to as many as eight points, 15-7, and withstood a late Pfeiffer rally where the Falcons pulled to within two points, 19-17. Brevard extended its lead back up to five points, 23-18, but three straight from the Falcons forced a BC timeout late in the frame. Brevard regrouped, however, finishing the set off with a Moon kill to take the win, 25-22.
Pfeiffer got out to a 9-6 lead in the third set of play, but the Tornados answered by scoring eight of the next 11 to hold the lead, 14-12. The stanza became a back-and-forth one, with the lead changing hands several times. The Falcons scored a pair late to retake the lead, 22-21, forcing a Brevard timeout, and scored three of the next four to claim the third set, 25-22.
Pfeiffer stormed to a dominant 13-point set four victory, 25-12, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set. The hosts held an early one-point lead, 5-4, but Brevard took a stranglehold on the deciding set with a match-clinching 11-3 scoring run that was capped by a Bailey Blackmon block.
BC returns home to face William Peace on Saturday at noon.
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