SARASOTA, Fla. – The William Carey Lady Crusaders finished the final day of the Mighty Banyan VolleyPalooza with a split, defeating Warner University 3-1 before falling to host New College of Florida by the same score.
Against Warner, the opening set featured a back-and-forth start with William Carey holding a slim 13-10 advantage midway through. A decisive run fueled by kills from
Agnes Hegardt,
Alejandra Villarreal,
Emily Martin, and
Alyssa Portee helped the Lady Crusaders pull away, extending the lead to 20-14 before cruising to a 25-16 set victory.
The second set was much tighter, with both teams trading the lead throughout the early stages. Warner eventually gained control behind a 10-3 run that produced a 20-13 advantage. Carey battled back to within three points late in the set, but the Royals closed the door with a kill to secure a 25-21 win and even the match.
The Lady Crusaders responded emphatically in the third set. Carey jumped out to a 7-3 lead and continued to build momentum, stretching the advantage to 16-7 behind kills from Hegardt, Portee, Martin, and Martensson. Warner never recovered as William Carey rolled to a 25-18 win.
After a competitive start to the fourth set, the Lady Crusaders seized control for good. Taking advantage of several Warner attack errors while getting key kills from
Reagan Ziegler,
Maurin Reyes, and Portee, Carey built a commanding 20-10 lead and finished off the match with a 25-13 set victory.
In their final match of the tournament against New College of Florida, the Lady Crusaders overcame an early 9-3 deficit in the opening set. Behind multiple kills from Villarreal and strong net play from Martin, Ziegler, and
Rachel Stegall, Carey battled back and eventually took a 16-13 lead.
The two teams traded points down the stretch until the score was tied at 20. Back-to-back kills from Martin and Villarreal gave the Lady Crusaders some breathing room, and additional kills from Villarreal and Portee helped Carey close out the set, 25-22.
That momentum carried into the second set as William Carey opened with a 7-3 run. The Banyans answered with a 9-2 surge to take the lead, and the teams continued to battle back and forth until the score was knotted at 17. New College then used a pivotal 5-0 run to take control and claim the set, evening the match at 1-1.
The third set followed a similar script, with both teams exchanging leads throughout the opening stages. Once again, however, the Banyans used a decisive run, this time scoring 11 of the next 15 points to pull away before claiming a 25-17 victory.
New College carried that momentum into the fourth set, racing out to a 9-2 lead. Carey trimmed the deficit to five on several occasions, but the Banyans answered each challenge and gradually extended their lead to 19-10 before closing out the match with a 25-11 set win.
The Lady Crusaders return to action Aug. 21-22 at the Life University Invitational in Marietta, Ga.
