Knoxville, TN: On Thursday, November 1st, the Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles volleyball squad under the direction of Coach Nathan Hall, traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee, to participate in the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament.
Six teams were seeded into pool play with the top 4 advancing to Friday’s semi-finals. Below are recaps of each contest.
|
Alice Lloyd |
12 |
10 |
17 |
|
Grace Christian (Mich.) |
25 |
25 |
25 |
In the opening game, the 5th seeded Eagles faced 2nd seeded Grace Christian. The higher seed looked impressive in the first two contests as they won Game 1, 25-12 and took game 2 in like fashion, 25-10. In game 3, ALC fought hard before Grace pulled away late for the 25-17 win.
For Alice Lloyd, junior Lindsey Perkins and freshman Madison Fralix led in kills with 6 each while Perkins added 10 digs. Junior Samantha Sturgill paved the way in assists with 13 while adding 10 digs. Freshman Sara Howard led with 12 digs.
|
Appalachian Bible |
19 |
27 |
25 |
25 |
9 |
|
Alice Lloyd |
25 |
29 |
20 |
21 |
15 |
The second match against 3rd seeded Appalachian Bible was the usual barn-burner the clubs seem to have each time they played all season. Game 1 saw ALC play well and win 25-19. Game 2 was a thriller and went into extra play before Alice Lloyd emerged the victor, 29-27. Playing for their very life, ABC took game 3 and game 4 in close sets, 25-20 and 25-21. This set up the game 5 tie-breaker to see who would advance from their pool. With the season on the line, the Lady Eagles responded in a major way and grabbed the early lead and extended it to win 15-9.
On the day for ALC, junior Lindsey Perkins and freshman Sara Howard registered 13 kills apiece while Perkins had 5 blocks and Howard contributed 20 digs to the cause. Junior Samantha Sturgill led the way in assists with 31 as well as in digs with 34. Fellow junior Alexis Napier helped with 24 digs.
|
Alice Lloyd |
12 |
20 |
9 |
|
Johnson University Tennessee |
25 |
25 |
2 |
By virtue of their win the previous day, ALC advance to the final four November 2nd where they would face the top seed, and NCCAA’s 4th ranked Johnson University Royals. JU jumped ahead in game 1 and rolled to the 25-12 win. In game 2, the Lady Eagles gave their all and battled the highly regarded hosts before succumbing at the end, 25-20. Not willing to give the dangerous lower seed any fuel for a comeback, Johnson played their best match in Game 3 and won convincingly 25-9. JU would later go on to win the championship over Grace Christian in straight sets as well.
On the day for ALC, freshman Madison Fralix led in kills with 5 and fellow freshman Sara Howard registered 14 digs. Junior Samantha Sturgill led the way in assists with 7 and added 10 digs. Fellow junior Haley Smith chipped in with 9 digs.
Alice Lloyd closes out their year with an 11-16 record. The eleven wins set a new record for victories in a single season. The good news is that Coach Hall returns his entire squad next year, and knows the potential is there for this group to go to an even higher level in 2018-19.