Lady Patriots defeat Chowan in 3-0 sweep
FMU women’s volleyball team prevailed over Chowan University on Tuesday, Sept. 24 in the nonconference battle.
Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Hansen had an impressive game with 14 kills and 11 digs.
Hansen had acquired 11 kills by the end of the second set.
The Lady Pats dominated the game, making smart decisions and playing in sync as a team.
Defensive specialist Natalie Vaughn led the team with 13 digs.
Following behind her with more team-highs was sophomore middle blocker Lily Walton with five blocks and three setting assists.
The Lady Patriots broke down the offense of Chowan University, leaving them with a negative hitting percentage for the whole match.
The first set started out strong for both teams. They stayed within a point or two of each other for most of the set.
Walton had some really solid and consistent serves throughout the first set.
Sophomore outside hitter Adison Minor made a spectacular play when she hit the ball right through a Chowan defenders attempt to block, advancing FMU’s score to a two-point advantage.
Minor gave the team a boost of momentum with her intense play and set off a domino effect with Vaughn who came right behind her with a clean serve, a grand back row attack and a good dig.
Junior middle blocker Courtney Abdur-Raheim also made an impressive serve and Walton leaped high in the air and came down with a monstrous kill to finish the job.
At the end of the first set, sophomore setter Finn Millians changed it up with a backside set to Minor who slammed it down for a kill.
Freshman middle blocker Madeline Winning had her best swing of the game as she plunged it through the side of the Chowan’s defense.
Hansen followed right behind Winning with an impressive side swing that put the Lady Patriots at a six-point advantage.
During the second set, the Lady Patriots made some good cohesive plays that kept them in the rally.
The Lady Patriots started to break down the offense and defense of Chowan during the second set.
Chowan couldn’t handle the intensity of the Lady Pats and started making mistakes, which the Lady Patriots capitalized on.
Minor dominated the court with her right-side attacks.
Freshman outside hitter Brittany Sehnke finished off the second set with a kill that gave the patriots a 2-0 lead.
Millians ended the first two sets with 23 assists.
The third set started off a little shaky for the Lady Patriots.
Chowan University took the lead 9-6, but the Lady Patriots were able to come back.
Chowan University and the Lady Patriots stayed close on each other’s heels for the remainder of the game, which ended with a two-point lead for the Lady Patriots.
Head Coach Lauren Baufield was very proud of the team’s performance.
“The beauty of our team is that at any given time anybody will step up,” Baufield said.
The team came together and followed the lead of Walton when they realized she was bringing the momentum the team needed to come out victorious.
“We wanted to come out confident and have fun,” Walton said. “Our motto is to begin strong, stay strong and finish strong.”
