Falcons Pick Up Huge 3-1 Win in PBC Quarterfinals

AIKEN, S.C. - The fourth-seeded University of Montevallo Falcons got 14 kills from senior Katie Johnson (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson) and 13 from Katy Handrick (De Pere, Wisc./De Pere) as they held off a persistent USC Aiken team in a 3-1 quarterfinal win at the Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament, part of the PBC-GEICO Championship series. With the win, UM (20-13) advanced to face top-seeded Flagler on Saturday at 4:00 pm eastern. USC Aiken (15-18), seeded fifth in the tournament, sees their season come to a close. UM won the match 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21.

The score was tied in the first set when Montevallo rattled off three points as part of a 5-1 run. The Falcons got aces from Johnson and freshman Brittany Wilson (Floyds Knobs, Ind./Floyd Central) in the run. But USCA responded, cutting the lead to three at 12-9 on a Jessica Loper kill, but that would be as close as the Pacers would get as UM blew open a five-point lead with four straight points, including a Handrick kill, that left the score 23-15.

The second set was nearly a complete reversal as Montevallo saw their attack percentage cleaved nearly in half while USC Aiken found their stride, hitting .270 in the set alone. Nevertheless, the set came down to the wire as USCA saw a 21-13 lead vanish with a 10-2 Montevallo run behind the serve of sophomore Anna Garrison (LaVergne, Tenn./LaVergne). The Falcons ran off five points in a row during the run that left the score 24-23. USCA got the second set following an attack error and a kill from Lauren Cedeno.

Montevallo responded with a win in the third set as they hit .293. The set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to open up more than a five-point lead. That margin belonged to Montevallo at 14-9 following a kill from freshman Virginia Clay (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre). Aiken fought back with a key block from Loper and Megan Disney and kills from Loper and Whitney Tabbert that left the score 16-15 UM. The rally seemed to spark Montevallo, who outscored USCA 9-5 to take the set.

In the fourth set UM rallied from a 10-5 deficit with a 12-3 run that left them ahead 17-13. The Falcons got six straight points behind the serve of senior Carson Anderson (Chattanooga, Tenn./Baylor), two points coming off Lauren Markle (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) kills. The Falcons made two brilliant defensive plays with one kick save on a long rally and a pancake save from libero Brittany Wilson. UM held USCA to a -.03 hitting percentage in the fourth to win the match.

Anderson finished with 12 kills for Montevallo to go with the 14 from Johnson and 13 from Handrick. Anna Garrison had 46 assists and 13 digs while Wilson finished with 20 digs. UM held a 73-54 advantage in digs and 10-7 in blocks.