ARKADELPHIA, Ar. – The University of Montevallo volleyball team falls in both ends of their double-header on the opening weekend of the 2024 season.
In the first day of the 2024 Reddie-Tiger Invitational, Montevallo lost in three sets to the tournament host, Henderson State, 0-3. The Falcons ended the day with a loss to Missouri S&T, 1-3.
Freshman
Nikol Antova led the Falcons with 22 kills on the day including a 17-kill performance against Missouri S&T while
Colton Thompson recorded the most assists with 27. Defensively,
Ava Wind had 19 digs and
Claire Hayes had the most total blocks with five.
Match Information
Score: Montevallo 0, Henderson State (3) (15-25, 12-25, 22-25)
Records: Montevallo (0-1) | Henderson State (1-0)
Location: Duke Wells Center (Arkadelphia, Ar.)
GAME NOTES
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
- Montevallo seized the early advantage by going on a 3-0 run out of the gate with an ace from Grace Petro and blocks by Danielle Greene and Aliyah Thompson.
- Henderson State quickly came back and tied the Falcons point by point.
- Tied at 8-8, the Reddies took the lead at 13-9 with four kills and a service ace.
- HSU would go on another run while up 13-11 as they won the next six out of seven points with three kills and three Falcon miscues.
- Henderson State would win the final four points to close out the first set.
- The Reddies had 11 kills compared to the Falcons five in the set.
Set 2
- Henderson State picked up right where they left off as they jumped out to a 10-3 advantage with five terminations.
- Nikol Antova came into the match while down 12-4 and she converted three kills in three attempts to slow down the Reddies.
- After a kill from Claire Hayes, HSU won four consecutive points to go up 20-9 and then were able to win the set with the final four out of five points.
Set 3
- The most competitive set in the match saw both teams trade points back and fourth till the Falcons took a 5-4 lead with kills by Eliza Tyrrell and Claire Hayes.
- Henderson State took advantage of three UM Mistakes and seized the lead at 8-5.
- Montevallo won the next four out of five points including an ace and a kill by Colton Thompson.
- Down 21-15, Montevallo showed fight with kills from Nikol Antova and Maggie McColley to bring the set to 21-19, advantage HSU.
- Both teams would trade three-point swings then the Reddies took the match off an error committed by the Falcons.
Match Information
Score: Montevallo 1, Missouri S&T (3) (15-25, 25-17, 25-27, 15-25)
Records: Montevallo (0-2) | Missouri S&T (1-1)
Location: Sturgis Physical Education Center (Arkadelphia, Ar.)
GAME NOTES
- Nikol Antova was on fire with 17 kills on a .343 hit percentage. Antova added six digs, a block and an ace to her stat line.
- Ava Wind was impressive, leading all players with 16 digs in the match.
- Claire Hayes recorded the highest hitting percentage for the Falcons at .364.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
- In the first matchup between schools in each program history, Missouri S&T leaped out to a 9-4 lead with four kills and an ace.
- While up 12-8, the Miners went on a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 19-10.
- The Falcons took the next three points with an ace from Blakeley Robbins and two Miner errors.
- Missouri S&T quickly closed out the Falcons in set one with four consecutive points.
Set 2
- Montevallo was dominate in the second set as they hit at a .500 clip with 13 kills in 24 attacks with only one error.
- MST had no answer for Antova as she had six kills in the set.
- The Miners made a run at UM to squeeze the gap to 13-11 but kills from Antova and Katie Wilkerson got the Falcons back on track.
- From that point forward, the Falcons would win their first set of the season by the way of nine kills, one ace and only two Missouri S&T errors.
Set 3
- Montevallo was on a roll as they continued their hot hitting by jumping out to a 6-1 lead with kills from Brooklyn Hudson, Danielle Greene and Colton Thompson.
- The Miners would storm back to tie the set up at 12-12.
- MST took the lead at 13-12 but three straight kills from the Falcons swung the set back in UM's favor.
- Montevallo would hold the lead to 20-17 but the Miners chipped away with four out of the next five points to tie the Falcons at 21-21.
- Kills from Antova, Greene and Hudson would put UM at 24-22 but the Missouri S&T attack would come alive as they took the next three points.
- Tied 25-25, MST would take the next two points on two kills.
- Despite losing the set, Montevallo had 18 kills compared to Missouri S&T's 10.
Set 4
- Missouri S&T would take advantage of seven Falcon errors to go on and win in four sets.
- Nikol Antova would total five kills in the set and Blakeley Robbins would assist on five kills.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will turn around and finish off the 2024 Reddie-Tiger Invitational with two more matches tomorrow. First match for the Falcons is at 12:00 p.m. as they take on host Ouachita Baptist and then Southeastern Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m.
