ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Everything is magnified with two evening matched teams and on Saturday Kentucky Wesleyan College suffered a narrow 3-1 defeat to Notre Dame College. The Panthers dropped the four set match 25-21, 30-28, 23-25, and 25-17. In the finale, West Georgia picked-up a straight set victory over Kentucky Wesleyan to conclude the Eckerd Volleyball Classic. Nicole Venema recorded 66 digs, eight assists, and two aces in four matches to earn All-Tournament honors.
With the opening set tied at 10, the Falcons (2-1) won four of the next five points to take the edge. NDC held an attacking percentage of .316 in the opening frame as points went back-and-forth until the finish.
The Falcons looked to move ahead by two, but the Panthers (0-3) had other plans. Trailing 22-18, Kentucky Wesleyan recorded four unanswered points starting with Danielle Brouillette's kill. Nilah Roy tied the set at 25 and 28 with kills, but back-to-back kills by NDC ended the frame.
The third set was a game of streaks as the Panthers scored six consecutive points early to take a 8-4 lead. With five straight points late, Wesleyan established a 19-16 lead and road it to victory. Sierra Morrow's kill gave the Panther a 25-23 win and cut the deficit to 2-1.
NCD built a 11-6 lead early in the fourth frame as the Falcons won eight of 10 points to take control. Kentucky Wesleyan saw the most errors in the match come in the fourth frame as NCD took advantage. Nine Kentucky Wesleyan errors helped the Falcons build a lead as big as 20-10.
Roy finished with 11 kills to lead the Panthers. Lydia Jackson set-up the offense with 23 assists. Courtney Gildea added 14 assists. Nicole Venema led the team defensively with 23 digs.
West Georgia hit nearly .400 in the opening set and took down the Panther 25-20. Kentucky Wesleyan held a seemingly comfortable 16-11 lead in the opening frame when, the Wolves won five of six points to tie the set at 17. Brouillette notched the next kill to give the Panthers the lead, but five straight points by West Georgia flipped momentum.
The Wolves took the second set 25-15 and completed the sweep with a 25-18 victory of the third set. UWG finished with a .313 attacking percentage to the Panthers' .133. Morrow recorded a team-high eight kills while Jackson added 23 assists.
The Panthers return home on Friday and Saturday for the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational. Matches will start at 10 am and continue through Saturday evening.
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