JACKSON, Tenn. – The Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks volleyball team () finished play at the Union Classic on Saturday evening. After a tightly contested five-set win over Tusculum to open the season, the Warhawks lost to fellow conference foe Union 1-3 (21-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23) late Friday night, dropped a five-set nailbiter to Upper Iowa, 2-3 (25-23, 19-25, 25-13, 15-25, 9-15), before finishing the weekend with a thrilling five-set victory over Lane, 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-12, 15-11), on Saturday evening.
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UNION BULLDOGS
How It Happened
Set 1
AUM and Union battled through a competitive opening set, with the Warhawks holding the lead at 6-5. The Bulldogs would take the lead from there and not relinquish it, taking the first set 25-21.
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Set 2
The Bulldogs jumped ahead 5-1 before AUM battled back to tie the set at 9-9. The Warhawks remained within striking distance late, but Union closed the frame with a 25-19 win.
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Set 3
AUM took an early 5-4 lead before Union answered with a 6-1 run to go ahead 10-6. The Warhawks battled back, behind three kills from
Chelsea Daffin helping bring the orange and black within one at 12-13.
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Not long after, the Warhawks were able to find a 5-0 rally, with kills from Daffin and
Mya Lacey, along with a service ace by
Amiliaa DeLeon, taking a 17-16 advantage before Union rallied to tie the set at 17-17.
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The teams then exchanged points to push the score to 20-20.
Skye Letson's kill put the orange and black back ahead, before a flurry of Bulldogs attack errors ended the set with AUM in front 25-20.
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Set 4
The orange and black fought to extend the match to a deciding fifth set, overcoming an early deficit and eventually tying up the score at 19-19. After Union moved ahead 23-20, AUM rallied to tie the set at 23-23, but the Bulldogs scored the final two points to earn the 25-23 win.
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NOTABLES
- Chelsea Daffin led AUM with 15 kills while hitting at an impressive .429 rate, adding nine digs, and a service ace.
- Amiliaa DeLeon led the Warhawks with 19 digs and two service aces.
- Addison Vinson contributed 17 assists and eight digs.
- Mya Lacey added 10 kills and a service ace.
- Jamya Powell totaled eight kills and an assisted block.
- The Warhawks recorded 58 digs to Unions 55.
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UPPER IOWA PEACOCKS
How It Happened
Set 1
AUM held a 13-11 advantage before Upper Iowa battled back to take a 16-13 lead. The two teams continued to trade points before the orange and black used a late 5-0 run to tie the set at 22-22.
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After a point from the Peacocks, a solid kill from Daffin and a pair of opponent attack errors gave the Warhawks a 25-23 first set victory.
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Set 2
AUM opened the second set with a 4-1 lead behind two service aces from
Mya Lacey. Upper Iowa responded, eventually taking a 10-8 advantage and extending its lead to 14-10.
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The Warhawks battled back to tie the set at 16-16 following a
Chelsea Daffin kill, but the Peacocks scored nine of the final 11 points to take the set, 25-19.
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Set 3
Kinsley Kennedy got AUM off to a fast start in the third, serving up three aces during a 4-0 opening run.
Addison Vinson then added two service aces during a 7-0 stretch that pushed the Warhawks' lead to 13-5.
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AUM continued to pull away, building a 15-6 advantage before closing out the set with the final two points to earn a dominant 25-13 win and take a 2-1 lead.
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Set 4
Upper Iowa jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set before AUM answered with four straight points, including two kills from
Skye Letson, to cut the deficit to 8-5.
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The Peacocks regained control and extended their advantage to 18-11. AUM fought back late, but Upper Iowa closed out the set 25-15 to force a deciding fifth set.
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Set 5
The Peacocks took an early 3-2 lead before AUM answered with three straight points to move ahead 5-3. The teams remained within one point of each other Upper Iowa took a 10-8 advantage.
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The orange and black were able to get one back, but Upper Iowa scored the final five points to close out the match with a 15-9 victory.
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NOTABLES
- Chelsea Daffin led the Warhawks with 15 kills, hitting .394, while adding 11 digs.
- Kinsley Kennedy posted 22 assists, 12 digs, and four service aces.
- Mya Lacey recorded 10 kills and three service aces.
- Jamya Powell added eight kills while hitting .333.
- Skye Letson contributed nine kills and hit .192.
- Amiliaa DeLeon led AUM with 13 digs and added five assists, and a service ace.
- Autumn Harper recorded four kills and four block assists.
- Jori Taylor added two kills and four total blocks.
- AUM finished with 48 kills, 47 assists, 10 service aces, nine total blocks and 55 digs.
LANE COLLEGE
How It Happened
Set 1
AUM and Lane worked through a competitive opening set, with the Warhawks holding an early 6-5 advantage. The Dragons responded with a 5-1 run to take a 10-6 lead, but AUM continued to battle, to pull within one at 10-9.
The teams continued to trade points, eventually reaching a 15-15 tie. A
Chelsea Daffin kill put the Warhawks ahead 16-15, but Lane answered with a late surge, scoring five straight points to take a 23-18 advantage. AUM cut the deficit to 23-19, but the Dragons closed out the set with the final two points to earn a 25-19 victory.
Set 2
Lane opened the second set with a 4-1 advantage before AUM began to chip away at the deficit. Kills helped the Warhawks pull within 6-5, while a pair of Lane errors and a kill from
Mya Lacey brought AUM level at 8-8.
The Warhawks then took control with a 6-1 run.
Maison Turner sparked the surge with back-to-back service aces, followed by a kill from Lacey and another Turner ace to push AUM ahead 14-9.
The orange and black received kills from
Jamya Powell, Daffin and Lacey down the stretch, building a 20-16 lead before extending it to 24-18. After Lane added one more point, Lacey delivered the final blow with a kill to give the Warhawks a 25-19 victory and even the match at 1-1.
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Set 3
The Warhawks and Dragons delivered a competitive third set, with the Warhawks holding a 16-14 advantage after a kill from
Jamya Powell, a block from Powell and an ace from
Addison Vinson.
Lane answered with a 5-0 run to take control late, but with the help of kills from
Chelsea Daffin and Powell, AUM pulled within two at 18-20. Lane scored five of the final seven points to close out the set 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4
AUM came out strong in the fourth set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind a kill from
Ava Boyll, a service ace from
Ainslee Copeland and a Lane attack error. The Dragons answered with a brief 3-1 run to pull within one, but the Warhawks responded with three straight points, including a kill and service ace from
Kinsley Kennedy, to take a 9-3 advantage.
Lane cut the deficit to 9-5, but AUM continued to control the set behind kills from
Chelsea Daffin,
Jori Taylor and
Jamya Powell. The Warhawks extended their lead to 16-9. Lane tried to rally, but AUM scored five of the next six points, including back-to-back service aces from
Maison Turner, to take a 21-11 advantage.
Addison Vinson finished the set with a kill, giving AUM a dominant 25-12 victory and forcing a deciding fifth set.
Set 5
AUM quickly established control in the deciding fifth set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead behind kills from
Jamya Powell and
Chelsea Daffin, along with a pair of Lane errors. Powell and Daffin continued to deliver as the Warhawks extended their lead to 10-5.
Lane then mounted a furious comeback, scoring five straight points to tie the set at 10-10. A kill from
Jori Taylor stopped the run. After Lane pulled within two, Powell delivered another kill before an AUM block from
Addison Vinson and Daffin forced a Lane attack error, giving the Warhawks a 15-11 victory and a 3-2 match win.
Notables
