MONTEVALLO, Ala. — Mississippi Christian lost 3-1 to Montevallo on Saturday, with set scores of 22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 19-25. The Choctaws finished with 58 kills and a .264 hitting percentage but were outpaced 11-4 in service aces.
MC erased an early 5-2 deficit and moved in front 7-6 in the first set, getting three kills from
Caroline Downey during the response before
Holland Williams put the visitors ahead. The set stayed tight through the middle points, with Williams,
Cydney Mitchell and
Audrianna Green helping the Choctaws build a 14-11 lead. Montevallo then moved from 14-11 down to a 19-14 advantage, forcing The Blue and Gold to play from behind late. MC cut the gap to 23-21 behind a
Meg Paparella kill, a Montevallo attack error and a Mitchell kill, but Montevallo finished the set 25-22.
The Choctaws pushed back from an 8-7 deficit in the second set, using a
Meg Paparella kill, a
Cydney Mitchell block, a Paparella ace and a Mitchell kill to move in front 11-8. After the teams traded stretches through the middle of the set, MC led 14-13 on a
Mary Grace Foster kill before Montevallo moved ahead and eventually built a 23-17 advantage. The Blue and Gold answered with a late surge, starting with a Montevallo service error before Paparella served five straight points that included kills from Downey and Foster, a Mitchell-Foster block and Downey's tying kill at 23-23. Montevallo took the final two points, however, and the Choctaws dropped the set 25-23.
MC took control of the third set with a six-point run from a 5-4 edge to an 11-4 lead, with
Meg Paparella serving the final five points of the stretch and adding an ace while Downey put down back-to-back kills.
Holland Williams and
Audrianna Green were part of early blocking points that helped the Choctaws build separation, and Williams continued to answer with kills as the set moved into the middle stages. Montevallo scored four straight to cut The Blue and Gold's lead to 15-11, but
Cydney Mitchell stopped that stretch with a kill before Foster, Paparella and Williams helped push the margin back out. After Montevallo closed within 22-17, Williams delivered another kill,
Mamie Fromdahl followed with a kill, and Mitchell and Green combined on the final block to finish a 25-17 set win.
The Choctaws made their largest push after falling behind 13-7, using kills from
Audrianna Green,
Rhaia Davey, Foster and
Meg Paparella, along with two Montevallo errors, to move within 15-13. Earlier,
Cydney Mitchell helped stop Montevallo's opening 3-0 run with a kill and a block, while
Holland Williams added two kills as MC worked to stay connected through the middle of the fourth set. Montevallo answered the 15-13 pressure with points that pushed the margin back out, including a stretch from 20-16 to 24-16. The Blue and Gold kept the set going behind a Downey kill, a
Reese Regner service ace and a Foster kill, but Montevallo closed the fourth set 25-19.
Holland Williams led the Choctaws with 12 kills, hit .345 and added three blocks.
Reese Regner finished with 26 assists, 14 digs and a service ace.
Samarin Kipple recorded 22 digs and added five assists.
Meg Paparella contributed nine kills, three aces and nine digs.
Up next, MC travels to Mobile, Ala., to face Spring Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m.
