By Carolina Garcia, Staff Writer
The newly No. 16 Armstrong volleyball team traveled to Montevallo, Alabama to face the Falcons on Friday, Oct. 24. The Pirates swept the Falcons in a 3-0 victory with set scores of 25-17, 26-24, and 25-22. This victory stretched the Pirates current regular season winning streak in the Peach Belt to 40 matches, and the Pirates have now clenched 20 or more wins in seven straight seasons and 15 of the last 16 seasons. The Pirates also ended Montevallo’s three game winning streak.
Sophomore Anna McGee said, “We knew coming into this weekend that we would have to be mentally and physically tough. It was our longest traveling weekend and we needed to be able to get off of the bus and be ready to play.”
Overall, the Pirates hit .286 and notched 21 kills in the first set against the Falcons. The Falcons battled hard in the second set, causing the Pirates to stretch the set to 26-24 for the game point. However, sophomore Emily Wylie fired off a kill while a Falcon error allowed the Pirates to win the second set. The Falcons started off the third set leading 14-9, but the Pirates scored eight of the next 10 points and a kill from sophomore Rachel Thompson ended the battle between the Pirates and Falcons with a score of 24-22.
Senior Stephanie Sfara led the team with 16 kills, sophomore Anna McGee notched 12 kills, and senior Kamryn Sherman added 47 assists. On defense, senior Morgan Hill achieved a match-high of 25 digs.
The Montevallo Falcons were led by Chandler Cooper’s nine kills and .444 hitting percentage. Briana Marquez tallied 31 assists, and Carissa Bell clenched 17 digs.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, the Pirates traveled north from Montevallo to Columbus State in Columbus, Georgia to take on the Cougars. The Pirates came out on top after a five-game match with set scores of 21-25, 29-27, 25-11, 17-25, 15-11
The Cougars took the first set and had set point in the second set, but an attack error, kill from senior Taylor Permenter, and service ace from sophomore Kim Brody notched a Pirate set win at 29-27. Armstrong easily took the third set, hitting .375, but the Cougars battled back and took the fourth set. The Pirates began the fifth set strong by firing off six straight points on the set of Sherman and took the final set with a 15-1 victory.
“Columbus State gave us a hard time, but we were thankful for a little competition. They came out strong, but I don’t think we ever doubted our ability to come out on top” McGee said.
Wylie led the Pirates offensively with 21 kills. Sfara added 20 kills and 14 digs of her own and Thompson added 13 kills and five blocks while Sherman tallied 39 assists, and Hill notched a career-high of 35 digs.
The Pirates host UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, October 30 with a chance to clinch the PBC title at 3 p.m.
