Golden Tigers Volleyball Split Four Matches

The Brenau Golden Tigers volleyball team finished the week with two wins, against non-conference opponents North Greenville and Clark Atlanta, and two losses, against Emmanuel and Southern Wesleyan.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel defeated Brenau in an exciting match that lasted five sets with the Lions escaping with a victory, 9-25, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11. On Dig Pink/Greek Night, the Golden Tigers used the energy from the crowd and dominated the first set and played their best volleyball of the season. Ellen Lemos (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led all scorers with 19 kills and also contributed 23 digs for her 7th double-double of the season. Pam Konken (9 kills), Rachel Adam (8 kills), and Marcella Toups (5 kills) rounded out the scoring. Courtney Deason (Pensacola, FL) distributed 37 assists, while Lindsay Kelly (19 digs), Chelsea Foster (16 digs), and Konken (11 digs), played well defensively for Brenau.

Southern Wesleyan came into the Brenau gym on Friday and handed the Golden Tigers a loss in three sets, 25-16, 25-14, 25-17. Brenau could not get any offense going against a tough defense, accumulating only 23 kills on 116 swings. Konken (Stockbridge, GA) 6 kills and Lemos, had 6 and 5 kills respectively. Defensively, Lindsay Kelly (Cumming, GA) added 12 digs for the match.

On Saturday, Brenau defeated North Greenville in four sets, 25-21, 26-28, 25-17, 25-23. Rachel Adam (Athens, GA) led all scorers with 17 kills, followed by Lemos, (11 kills), Konken, (7 kills) and Allie Smith (4 kills). Bailey Hicks (Buford, GA) had 43 assists, while Kelly (24 digs), Lemos (16 digs), Konken (15 digs), and Hicks (10 digs) contributed defensively. Adam dominated the net with 4.5 blocks.

In the final match against the home team, Brenau beat Clark Atlanta in five sets, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 27-29, 15-5. Lemos and Adam had 14 and 13 kills respectively, and Lemos and Kelly added 30 digs each. Lemos earned her 9th double-double of the season in this match. Hicks had 47 assists and 10 digs in her role as setter. Once again, Adam was a presence in the front row, adding 6.5 blocks.

"I am happy with the way we finished out the week, winning two tough matches. The Emmanuel match was tough to deal with because I felt we deserved to win but just couldn't get it done, said head coach Jeff White." Our confidence was shaken and Southern Wesleyan took advantage of our weakened condition. Against North Greenville and Clark Atlanta, we showed resiliency and toughness in earning the two wins."

The Golden Tigers, now 10-16 overall and 4-8 in SSAC, will play conference opponent Martin Methodist on Tuesday, and travel to Talladega College on Friday.