Volleyball Goes 2-0 on Day One of Milligan Invite

MILLIGAN, Tenn.- Southeastern volleyball put together a strong opening day, going 2-0 at the Milligan Invite without dropping a set. The Fire took game one of the season 3-0 from Rio Grande University and game two from Georgetown University.
 
The offensive combination of Cambry Pope and Emilia Harding led the Fire to a three-set win over Rio Grande in game one of the Milligan Invite. The duo combined for nearly half the Fire's kills with Pope recording 12 and a .450 attack percentage and Harding posting a .429 attack percentage and 10 kills.
 
Set one began with a Harding kill but a five-point run by Red Storm later in the set forced a Southeastern timeout with an 11-6 deficit.
 
Later, the Fire strung together an 11-1 run highlighted by three kills from Olivia Williams to take the 22-16 set one lead. A Harding kill concluded the 25-22 set victory and added to the Fire's .310 hitting percentage and 15 kills in set one.
 
The Fire offense heated up even more in set two, posting a collective .405 attack percentage with 18 kills to take the 25-20 win.
 
The Red Storm began the set with three straight service aces and used the momentum to jump out to a 7-2 lead over the Fire. The uphill climb began for the Fire as they put down 12 kills to tie the set at 15 including four consecutive by Pope.
 
The teams then went on to exchange points until three consecutive by the Fire gave them the 21-17 lead. Kills by Harding and Williams concluded set two.
 
The Fire were forced to scratch out the 29-27 set three win after hitting just .057.
 
The Red Storm took the 25-24 edge to force a Southeastern timeout which was followed by a Rio Grande service and attack error to give the Fire the 26-25 lead. A kill and a service ace by the Red Storm put them one point away from forcing a set four but a big-time swing by Pope once again tied the contest, setting up two Red Wave errors to end the threat.
 
Ava Connors and Alexandra Postlethwaite combined for 31 assists while Chapel Cunningham, Tatyana Lyons, and Pope each recorded four blocks.
 
In game two, the Fire spent the entirety of the match capitalizing on a poor offensive effort by Georgetown College, taking the match 3-0.
 
The Fire's .138 attack percentage in set one was able to outdo the Tigers' .036 attack percentage to take the 25-19 win.
 
Set two saw a 25-12 Fire win after a negative attack percentage by their opponent while set three saw the Fire hit .304 with 10 kills to take the 25-19 set and match victory.
 
Williams led the offense with eight kills and a .467 attack percentage while Postlethwaite tallied a team-high 12 assists.
 
Southeastern will conclude the Milligan Invite tomorrow with a 10 a.m. contest against receiving votes Blue Mountain Christian and a 2:30 p.m. contest against No. 12 Taylor University.