Panthers fall to Trojans in fierce four-set match

BY ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant made the 15th-ranked Fairfield volleyball team sweat on Thursday night in a Southeast Conference game in Mt. Pleasant, but the Trojans pulled it out, 3-1 behind a great day hitting the ball.

Each of the four sets were within five points in a back-and-forth matchup that had both fan bases on the edge of their seats all game.

The action started quickly with the teams racing out to a 9-9 tie to start the first set. Shelby Heston was on fire for the Trojans and Sarah Moffett peppered a couple of kills for the Panthers.

The first set raged on into the double digits and was tied multiple times down the road. With the game at 13-13, Mt. Pleasant?s Abbie Liechty and Fairfield?s Kara Jeffrey went punch for punch with two kills each to get the score to 15-15.

A couple of Trojan mistakes allowed Mt. Pleasant to get out to a 17-15 advantage, but the Trojans scored three in a row to take an 18-17 lead on Jeffrey?s serve.

A kill by Moffett tied the set at 19-19, but Mt. Pleasant struggled late in the set and the Trojans escaped with a 25-22 win, which ended on a hard kill by Jeffrey.

Set two was another close contest, but this time Mt. Pleasant held a small lead for most of the set. The Panthers jumped out to a 14-10 on Liechty?s serve midway through the game and forced a Trojan timeout.

Fairfield clawed back into the set with strong play at the net, especially by Jeffry and Heston. A run by the two helped the Trojans take a late lead, at 22-21, but Mt. Pleasant finished the set off in a big way.

After Mikayla Beason tied the game at 22-22 with a kill, Ashlee Menke stepped up to serve. The junior setter scored three straight points to close it out, including a kill of her own on a tricky set that sailed over the net and onto the Trojan?s side.

The Panthers were red hot at the beginning of the third set and got themselves out to a 16-13 lead, which led to a Fairfield timeout.

Heston, however, kept the Trojans in the set with a series of blocks and sets and continued to contribute throughout the set.

With Mt. Pleasant leading, 18-15, Fairfield?s Alison Godwin made a couple of big plays to change momentum. She cut the score to 18-16 with a block and then scored on back-to-back aces to make it 18-18.

The Panthers bounced back to make it 20-18 on an ace by Beason, but the Trojans went on a 5-1 run to take a 23-21 lead. After a Trojan mistake and an ace by Liechty tied the set at 23-23, the Trojans closed out the game with back-to-back points, ending the set at 25-23.

Mt. Pleasant got out to yet another strong start in the fourth set and led 6-3 early. Beason and Jackie Fraise were able to keep the Trojans on their toes with a series of kills that stretched the lead to 14-11, but Fairfield once again made a big run midway through the set.

The Trojans clawed back to cut the Panther lead to 20-19 on a soft kill by Heston. Jillian Dunlap stepped up to serve and scored five straight points to close out the match.

Godwin had three straight kills to push the Panthers towards the brink. Dunlap made it 24-20 with another ace and a Panther mistake closed it out as the Trojans got away with a 3-1 win.

After the game, Mt. Pleasant head coach Dave Streeter acknowledged how his team has grown since last season, but said the close losses are what hurts the most.

?It makes it tough, knowing that we?re that close,? Streeter said. ?It?s tougher losing those closer ones, but to be able to see the stride these kids have made is amazing. It?s just the little things to keep working on to get it over that hill.?

Liechty and Beason led the Panthers on the stat sheet with eight kills apiece in the loss. Menke was the top setter with 31 assists.

The Panthers fell to 4-3 overall this season and 0-2 in conference play with losses to the top two SEC teams from last season. The Panthers will travel to Washington for their next game on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m.