Buena Vista, Va. --The Pfeiffer University volleyball team dropped a pair of USA South matches, falling to host Southern Virginia Knights 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 12-15) and to Meredith College 3-0 (19-25, 12-25, 19-25) on Saturday afternoon.
The losses drop Pfeiffer's record to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in USA South play.
Morgan Shrader finished with 10 kills on the day to lead the Falcons attack. got 19 digs from Gabby Edwards to lead them defensively.
Game Notes vs. SVU
» Kylee Mayberry had a match-high four aces in the loss.
» Morgan Shrader had a team-high 10 kills for Pfeiffer.
» Pfeiffer got a team-high 19 digs from Gabby Edwards.
» Pfeiffer attackers were helped by a team-high 19 assists from Karmen Rion.
How It Happened vs. SVU
SET 1 | The Falcons took set one 25-20 thanks to a solid showing on the attacking side. Pfeiffer put together a .429 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set victory. The Falcons rallied from down five at 7-2 to claim the win.
SET 2 | Pfeiffer lost the second set 25-18 to tie the match 1-1. Pfeiffer trailed by as many as seven points as Southern Virginia grabbed the advantage for good at 2-1 in a set that was knotted up just once before the Knights took over the lead.
SET 3 | A set-three loss put Pfeiffer behind 2-1. The Falcons came up short by the score of 25-21. Southern Virginia grabbed the advantage for good at 22-21 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Knights took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 4 | Pfeiffer broke their two set losing streak and forced a fifth set with a 25-23 victory in set number four. The Falcons survived a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured seven lead changes and was tied 14 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than three points along the way.
SET 5 | After dropping sets two and three, Pfeiffer won set four, tying things up at 2-2 to force a fifth set, but couldn't complete the comeback, losing the set 15-12 and the match 3-2. The Falcons couldn't persevere past a ferocious Southern Virginia rally in the fifth set, losing after leading by six points at 7-1 earlier in the set.
In the second match against Meredith, sophomore Haedyn McGrath finished with four kills on the day to lead the Falcons attack while finishing with a hitting percentage of .333. got five digs from Gabby Edwards to lead them defensively.
Game Notes vs. Meredith
» Jessica Leshko had a team-high three aces in the loss.
» Haedyn McGrath had a team-high four kills for Pfeiffer.
» Pfeiffer got a team-high five digs from Gabby Edwards.
» Pfeiffer attackers were helped by a team-high 11 assists from Kylee Mayberry.
How It Happened vs. Meredith
SET 1 | The Falcons dropped the first set 25-19 in spite of a solid showing on the attacking end. Pfeiffer registered a .313 attack percentage with six kills in the set loss.
SET 2 | Pfeiffer fell in set two 25-12, digging a 2-0 hole in the match. Pfeiffer trailed by as many as 13 points as Meredith grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 in a set that was tied up just once before the Angels took over the lead.
SET 3 | Pfeiffer was not able to win the third set and was swept by Meredith. The Falcons dropped a tough set 25-19. Pfeiffer trailed by as many as seven points as Meredith grabbed the advantage for good at 13-12 in a set that was tied up six times before the Angels took over the lead.
The Falcons will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 19 when they host Livingstone College at 6:00 p.m. in Merner Gym.
