SCORE
Lander 3, Montevallo 2 (25-13, 18-25, 26-24, 16-25, 9-15)
RECORDS
Montevallo (18-9 overall, 9-4 in Peach Belt Conference)
Lander (21-9 overall, 9-5 in Peach Belt Conference)
LOCATION
Horne Arena (Greenwood, South Carolina)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons opened the first set with a 10-5 run, capped with a kill by senior Nicole Holton. The Bearcats managed to trim the Montevallo lead to 12-9 following a kill by Halle Dotson before the Falcons ended the frame with an impressive 13-4 run to clinch a 25-13 win in the opening set. Junior Chandler Cooper provided four kills during the stretch before senior Rebekah Phelps and sophomore Kristy Bohan ended the frame with back-to-back kills to clinch the set.
Lander bounced back to secure a 25-18 win in the second set. Holton recorded a kill to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead, but it turned out to be their only lead in the frame. Back-to-back kills by Bohan midway through the set trimmed the Bearcats' lead to 14-13 before Lander ended the frame with a 10-5 run to clinch the set.
Montevallo raced out to a 10-5 lead again in the third frame before holding off the Bearcats in a hard-fought 26-24 win in the set. A kill by sophomore Breana Thomas gave the Falcons a five-point lead early in the frame before Lander came storming back to tie the set at 11-11. An attack error by the Bearcats gave Montevallo a 16-12 lead, marking the largest lead by either team down the stretch. Lander took a 24-23 lead following a kill by Julia Ferreira-Alves before the Falcons clinched the set with three consecutive points on back-to-back kills by Phelps and a block by Phelps and Bohan.
The Bearcats tied the match at 2-2 after clinching a 25-16 win in the fourth set. A kill by Bohan tied the set at 4-4 early in the frame before Lander went on a 10-2 run to take the momentum away from the Falcons. Bohan trimmed the deficit to 18-12 with a kill midway through the set before the Bearcats ended the frame with a 7-4 run to clinch the set.
Lander opened the fifth and final set with a 4-0 run, capped with a kill by Ferreira-Alves. The Falcons managed to trim the deficit to 4-3 with a 3-0 run, which included a service ace by Phelps. A pair of attack errors by the Bearcats allowed Montevallo to tie the set at 9-9 before Lander clinched a 15-9 win in the set with a 6-0 run to end the frame.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Junior Hannah Christie continues to impress in each match as the Falcons' setter, registering a career-high 52 assists to go along with a season-high 14 digs as she recorded her first double-double of the season.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Phelps tallied a career-high 27 digs to go along with 15 kills as she posted her eighth double-double of the season.
Holton recorded her ninth double-double of the year after contributing 10 kills and 22 digs, tying her career high in digs in the process.
The Falcons featured five players with double-digit digs, marking just the second time this season with more than four players registering double-digit digs in a match. Senior Carissa Bell led Montevallo with a match-high 35 digs.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will return to action Saturday, Oct. 31 with a Peach Belt Conference match on the road at USC Aiken in Aiken, South Carolina. The Pacers have won 13 consecutive matches since a 3-1 loss on the road at Montevallo in early October.
First serve is set for 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central.
