Women's Volleyball loses stiff contest to UAM, wraps up Volunteer State stay

JACKSON, Tenn. – The Catawba College women's volleyball team put forth a resilient effort but suffered a 3-1 defeat to the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Saturday, wrapping up the program's slate in the Union University Classic.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (1-5) had an improved hitting day with a .179 percentage, its second-best mark of the year, while the Cotton Blossoms (3-3) registered a clip of .223

- Each squad totaled six team blocks as three Catawba stops were solos compared to one for UAM

- The Cotton Blossoms led the match in aces at 13-7 and digs at 57-49

- Roughly half of Catawba's serves in each set resulted in side-outs, while UAM converted 12 of its 14 fourth-set side-out bids to seal the match

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Katrina Misra paced the Catawba Indians with a career-high 13 kills and a trio of service aces

- Katie Clark and Kelcie Love turned in nine-kill, three-block performances while logging hitting percentages north of .300

- Jordan Danielson buried seven spikes as Sydney McCutcheon contributed three, recording 34 assists as well

- Sophomore libero Riley Hill dug out 16 attacks to go with four helpers

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set

- UAM gained a narrow edge in the early going but its lead slipped away on three attack errors followed by Misra and Lauren Bodell kills

- Repetitive side-outs and continued miscues presented obstacles to the Cotton Blossoms' ability to regain their advantage

- However, the misfortune bug also bit Catawba as four attack errors in a row caused UAM to pull ahead, 21-19

- Clark landed a couple of blasts at the net to knot the set at 23-23, but UAM's Natalie White accounted for the Cotton Blossoms' last three points to bag a 27-25 decision in the opener

Second Set

- The Cotton Blossoms had the upper hand but fell victim to consecutive Misra aces that put Catawba up 10-8

- Riannel Arevalo and Rachel Gonzales tallied aces in multi-point service periods to extend the gap to six

- Danielson halted a late UAM run with her fifth kill of the set as Misra finished the job on an ace following back-to-back blasts

Third Set

- UAM embarked on a third holeshot start, reaching an 8-1 advantage to spur a Catawba timeout

- The Catawba Indians started to reel back into the stanza utilizing kills from a host of hitters

- The Cotton Blossoms alternated kills and errors down the stretch, but never allowed the set to slip out of reach with a 25-20 triumph

Fourth Set

- Capitalizing on errant Catawba attacks and leveraging kills by White, UAM took control early

- Love tacked on two kills as McCutcheon and Clark notched one apiece in a comeback effort

- Jasmine Welton and Michayla Black traded points against Misra, refusing to give an inch to the Catawba Indians

- Consecutive kills by Abrielle Jordan, White, and Welton off Mia Smalls assists finalized a 3-1 Cotton Blossom victory

UP NEXT

Catawba enters South Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday, Sep. 17 at Wingate. First serve against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 7 p.m.