Volleyball Opens 2019 at Faulkner Invitational

Montgomery, Alabama- The Brenau volleyball team struggled in the opening tournament of the season but gained valuable experience against solid competition at the Faulkner Invitational, hosted by Faulkner University this past weekend.

In the season opener on Friday, the Golden Tigers started slowly and eventually fell to Webber International 25-13, 25-15, 25-21. The defense was solid as Jordan Diaz, Kayleigh Reece, MacKenzie Kirby and Nitaira Wilkes each notched double-digit kills. However, Brenau struggled on the attack as Webber had a decided advantage in kills (28-18) to take the win.

Against Southeastern, the Fire outhit the Golden Tigers at the net to clinch a 25-11, 25-15, 26-24 victory.

After a sluggish first two sets, Brenau rallied in the third set to take a late 22-21 lead on a Southeastern hitting error. However, the Fire rallied with a 6-2 run to finish the set and take the match.

The Fire capitalized on attack opportunities as Southeastern produced an attack percentage of .239 to .098 over the Golden Tigers.

Sophomore Rachel Hodges led the Brenau attack with seven kills and Kayleigh Reece added six kills. Nitaira Wilkes led the team with 10 assists, while Jordan Diaz and MacKenzie Kirby combined for 20 digs.

On Saturday, the offense continued to struggle in a 25-13, 25-17, 25-10 loss to the University of Mobile.

The Rams posted a 30-18 kill advantage as the Golden Tigers had 17 attack errors in the match.

Jordan Diaz led the Golden Tigers with 14 digs, while Kayleigh Reece added 12 digs.

In the final match of the weekend, Brenau pushed William Carey, but came up short in 3-0 loss.

The Crusaders cruised to a 25-7 first set victory, but the Golden Tigers pushed back in the second set as the squad posted six straight points to cut the deficit to 24-20. However, a Golden Tigers attack error on game point helped William Carey escape with a narrow 25-20 second set win.

In the third set, the Golden Tigers stayed close as neither team could seize control early. William Carey pulled ahead 14-12, but Brenau's Rachel Hodges served back to back aces to even the score at 14-14. The Crusaders answered with four consecutive points to extend the lead to 18-14. However, Brenau narrowed the deficit with two straight points to cut the lead to 18-16. The Golden Tigers couldn't sustain momentum down the stretch and allowed the Crusaders to escape with a 25-19 win.

Brenau (0-4 overall) next competes against Freed Hardeman University on August 30th at 11 am at the Life University Running Eagle Classic in Marietta, Ga.