Greenville, SC - Saturday was an historic day for the Regent University Women's Volleyball team as Sophomore Rylee Stewart (Newport News, VA) became the first Royal to ever reach 1,000 career assists. Stewart, who is already Regent's All-Time Leader in Assists and the Single Game Record Holder, recorded the milestone in the first set of tri-match with Bob Jones University and Toccoa Falls College.
Game One
The Royals got off to a strong start in the first set and held several early advantages before the Bruins worked their way back and eventually took a 23-19 lead. However, after falling down by four points, Regent responded with three straight of their own to pull within one at 23-22. After Bob Jones reached set point at 24-22, Senior Reagan Holestin (Virginia Beach, VA) delivered a kill to keep the Royals alive. Regent then capitalized on a pair of Bruin attack errors to move in front 25-24 before closing out the comeback, 26-24.
The second set was another tightly contested frame. After falling behind 7-2, Regent steadily worked its way back into the set. Consecutive service aces from Freshman Hailey Caddy (Chesapeake, VA) helped the Royals move ahead 12-11, and then Regent eventually built a 17-14 advantage. Bob Jones responded, but the Royals continued to battle. Kills from Sophomore Keira Anderson (Leland, NC) and Holestin erased a late three-point deficit and tied the set at 22-22. The teams traded points from there, with Regent again drawing even at 23 before the Bruins scored the final two points to take the set 25-23 and even the match.
Bob Jones controlled the third set, using an early run to build a 9-1 advantage. Regent was unable to establish its attack during the frame, and the Bruins pulled away for a 25-8 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The third set saw the Royals score six of the first nine points and extended their advantage to 10-7 following a kill from Sophomore Brooklynn Delane (Colonial Beach, VA). Bob Jones eventually pulled even and moved ahead, but Regent continued to answer. Trailing 15-12 midway through the set, the Royals battled back behind kills from Freshman Claire Keefer (Winchester, VA) and Holestin. Regent eventually regained the lead at 17-16 before the teams continued trading momentum down the stretch. The Royals faced match point trailing 24-22 but once again refused to go away. After a Bob Jones service error cut the deficit to one, Holestin delivered another clutch kill to tie the score at 24-24. The Bruins answered with back-to-back kills, however, to escape with the 26-24 fourth-set victory and close out the match.
Holestin led the Regent offense with 13 kills on 41 attempts, while also recording six digs and two solo blocks. Delane added six kills and three digs, while Keefer finished with five kills and six digs. Stewart directed the Royals' attack with 25 assists while contributing 15 digs and two service aces, and Caddy added three kills, five digs and two aces. Defensively, Freshman Mykenah Antenore (San Diego, CA) led the way with a match-high 21 digs, giving Regent three players with double-digit digs. Anderson added eight digs as the Royals totaled 65 digs as a team. Regent finished the match with 31 kills, 27 assists, five service aces and three solo blocks.
Game Two
After trailing during the first half of the first set, the Royals worked their way back and grabbed a 15-14 advantage following consecutive kills from Keefer. With the score later tied at 19, Regent closed the set on a 6-3 run, capped by a Stewart service ace, to take the opener 25-22.
The Royals carried that momentum into the second set as Regent opened a 10-7 advantage before stretching the lead to 17-13. With the Eagles attempting to battle back, the Royals put together a dominant finish. Leading 20-18, Regent scored the final five points of the set, highlighted by back-to-back Keefer kills and kills from Holestin and Caddy, to win 25-18 and move within one set of the sweep.
Toccoa Falls jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the third set, before the Royals steadily erased the deficit. Regent eventually took its first lead of the set at 14-13 and extended the advantage to 18-13 behind a strong service run from Anderson, who recorded three aces during the stretch. The Eagles responded and eventually tied the set at 23-23. From there, the teams traded points deep into extra play. With the score tied at 25, a Toccoa Falls service error gave Regent match point before Keefer delivered the finishing score with her 16th kill, sealing the set 27-25 and completing the sweep.
Keefer finished with a match-high 16 kills while committing just three errors on 31 attempts for a .419 hitting percentage. She also contributed 11 digs and a service ace, finishing with a team-high 17 points. In addition, Anderson added six kills without an attack error, hitting .286, while also recording seven digs and three service aces. Caddy finished with four kills, eight digs and an ace, while Holestin contributed five kills and 12 digs. Stewart directed the Regent offense with 31 assists while adding 12 digs and two service aces, as Antenore led the Royals with 14 digs and three aces from the service line.
Regent will be back in action on Wednesday, October 7th when they host Trinity Washington University. First serve is set for 7:00pm.
