CLINTON, Miss. — Mississippi Christian (10-16, 7-7 Gulf South) defeated Union (TN) (5-21, 1-14 Gulf South) 3-0 on Tuesday. The Choctaws hit .275 with 35 kills while holding Union (TN) to 16 kills and a -.099 hitting percentage.
MC won the first set 25-12, using two six-point stretches to create separation and finish the frame. Earlier, the Blue and Gold moved ahead 5-1 behind a
Caroline Downey kill from
Reese Regner, a
Holland Williams kill and a
Rylie Widener service ace before Union (TN) worked back to 9-8. The Choctaws answered with six straight points to reach 15-8; after a Union (TN) service error started the run,
Cydney Mitchell served through points that included a
Meg Paparella kill from Regner, a Williams block and a Williams kill. Union (TN) took the next three points to 15-11, but Downey and
Mary Grace Foster kills around a Regner ace helped MC push the margin back to 18-11. From 19-12, Williams put down a kill to return the serve, and Widener served the final five points as Williams added two blocks,
Isabella Reyes recorded a kill from Regner and Foster closed the set with another Regner-assisted kill.
The Choctaws created their final separation after Union (TN) made it 17-14, winning seven of the last eight rallies to pull away in the second set. Earlier, MC answered a 1-0 start with kills from Foster and
Holland Williams, then used
Maeve Allen's serve to score four straight points for an 8-3 lead, with Reyes contributing a kill and a block and
Reese Regner adding consecutive kills. Union (TN) worked back to 13-12, but the Blue and Gold responded with a Union (TN) attack error, a Reyes kill and later a
Cydney Mitchell block and kill to stay in front at 17-13. Reyes added another kill at 18-14 before
Meg Paparella's service rotation helped push the margin to 21-14, and Mitchell added a late kill before
Holland Williams was credited with a block on the final point of the 25-15 set win.
MC built early separation in the third set, starting with a Foster kill and later using a
Cydney Mitchell kill during a stretch that put the home side ahead 6-2. Union (TN) closed the gap to 11-10 on a service ace, but the Blue and Gold answered with four straight points, including kills by
Meg Paparella and
Holland Williams, to move the score to 15-10. After Union (TN) made it 16-12, Mitchell added another kill,
Sophia Saxon followed with an ace, and
Audrianna Green finished a Saxon set to push the Choctaws ahead 20-12. MC continued to get late points from Green and
Anna Grace Chason before Union (TN)'s final service error ended the set at 25-18.
Holland Williams finished with seven kills, four solo blocks and 11 points. Foster matched the team lead with seven kills while hitting .500 and adding one solo block.
Reese Regner recorded 21 assists, two kills and one service ace, while
Samarin Kipple collected 14 digs and added three assists.
Up next, MC hosts Montevallo on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. in Clinton, Miss.
