LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Warren Wilson College volleyball team battled Geneva College in three competitive sets before falling 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 Friday during the opening day of the Hill City Classic at Turner Gym.
Akeela Cunningham led the Owls with 15 kills, 19 digs and two service aces.
Pandora Keele added nine kills, while
Aubrie Wachacha finished with five kills and a match-high three aces.
Warren Wilson held an early lead in the opening set and remained close throughout. The Owls pulled within 24-22 on consecutive points by Cunningham and Wachacha before Geneva secured the final point.
The Owls opened the second set with an 8-1 run behind a kill and ace from Wachacha and kills by Cunningham and Keele. Warren Wilson later held a 20-15 advantage, but Geneva responded with seven consecutive points to take the lead. Keele twice brought the Owls within one before Geneva closed out another 25-22 decision.
Geneva built a 15-6 lead in the third set before Warren Wilson mounted a late push. The Owls used a 5-0 run, highlighted by a block from
Kiera Littlejohn and a Cunningham kill, to cut the deficit to 21-17. Cunningham added four more kills during the closing stretch, but Geneva held on for a 25-21 victory.
Aria Parish directed the Warren Wilson offense with 29 assists and added 10 digs.
Josie McCoy collected 14 digs, while
Kylee Egidi contributed eight. The Owls finished with eight service aces.
Warren Wilson College completed the opening day of the Hill City Classic with a three-set loss to Piedmont University.
Piedmont earned the victory by scores of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-10. The two setbacks moved Warren Wilson to 0-4 on the season.
The Owls started quickly in the opening set, taking a 5-3 lead behind kills from
Josie McCoy and
Akeela Cunningham and a Cunningham service ace. Piedmont answered with a five-point run to move ahead and later used another surge to build an 18-9 advantage.
Warren Wilson produced its strongest stretch in the second set. After falling behind 10-3, the Owls continued to battle and used consecutive Piedmont errors to pull within 21-17. McCoy added a kill to make it 20-15 earlier in the rally, but the Lions held off the comeback to win 25-19.
Piedmont took control early in the third set, using extended service runs to build a double-digit advantage. Warren Wilson scored four of the final seven points, including aces from McCoy and
Aria Parish, before the Lions completed the sweep.
Cunningham led the Owls with nine kills and 16 digs. McCoy contributed five kills and six digs, while Parish finished with three kills, 16 assists, eight digs and one ace.
Pandora Keele added three kills and six digs. McCoy, Parish and Cunningham accounted for Warren Wilson's three service aces. Lillian Gaskins paced Piedmont with 12 kills and three aces.
