Catawba Splits Second Day at Electric City Invitational

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Catawba College volleyball team split day two of the Electric City invitational on Friday with a sweep over Converse in the first game and a four-set defeat against Alabama Huntsville in game two.

Game One

The women's volleyball team wasted no time getting back on track following Thursday night's loss early Friday afternoon. Catawba had just two attacking errors in the opening set to help propel themselves to a first-set win.

Early on, the set was tied 8-8, but the Lady Indians went off for five straight points to pull ahead 13-8. Four errors on Converse and a Kary Hales service ace fueled the momentum swing. Converse cut it to three points, but Catawba pulled away for a 25-18 first set win.

After hitting .389 in the first set, Catawba leaned on veterans Raytchelle Miranda and Ashley Johnson in set two. The duo combined for seven of the team's nine kills in a set that saw Catawba hit under a .100 percentage, but the Lady Indians got the second set victory, 25-19.

In the third set, the volleyball team recorded six service aces from five different players which translated to a straight set sweep. Kary Hales, Rachel Gonzales, Dara Kane, Christina Knotts, and Hayes Smith each notched aces on the serve to finish things off, 25-15.

Game Two

Catawba battled Alabama Huntsville to four hard-fought sets but fell 25-19, 28-16, 23-25, 25-17. Ashley Johnson, Raychelle Miranda, and Jordan Gore combined for 26 kills, while Kary Hales and Rachel Gonzales contributed a combined 26 digs. 

The women's volleyball team struggled to get out of their own way at the net after committing 33 attack erros to the Chargers' 16.

In a crucial second set, Catawba held a 23-17 lead before Alabama Huntsville roared back with a 9-3 run to go up by two sets. The Lady Indians were in a similar position in the third set holding a 23-16 advantage when the Chargers cut it to 24-22. Jordan Gore slammed a kill and an attack error got Catawba on the board. 

Alabama Huntsville finished it off in the fourth set 25-17 to drop Catawba to 2-3 on the season. The Lady Indians will look to split the four-game weekend tomorrow moring against Texas A&M International at 9:00 a.m.