Lookout Mountain, GA - The Regent University Women's Volleyball picked up its seventh victory of the season Saturday afternoon, turning in a dominant straight-set victory over Agnes Scott College before closing the day against host Covenant College. The Royals opened the afternoon with a 3-0 sweep of Agnes Scott, taking the match 27-25, 25-12 and 25-20 and then faced the Scots who entered the match with just one loss on the season, falling in three sets, 25-16, 25-8 and 25-17.
Game One
Regent opened the day with one of their strongest offensive performances of the season, finishing with 44 kills, 39 assists, nine service aces and 50 digs in the three-set victory. The Royals hit .218 for the match while holding the Scotties to a .084 attacking percentage.
In the first set, Regent found itself trailing 18-12 before beginning to chip away at the deficit. The Royals eventually pulled even at 23-23 and continued to answer each Agnes Scott point down the stretch. With the score tied at 25, Regent delivered, as Sophomore Emma Kristiansen (Sparta, NJ) combined first with Freshman Hailey Caddy (Chesapeake, VA) and then Freshman Claire Keefer (Winchester, VA) on consecutive blocks to complete the comeback and give the Royals the win 27-25.
As the second set began, Regent jumped ahead early and never looked back, rolling to a 25-12 victory, while hitting .400 with 12 kills and only two attacking errors. That momentum carried over into the third set as they completed the sweep, 25-20.
The Royals' offense was led by Keefer, who finished with a match-high 15 kills and nine digs, while Freshman Mia Wilson (Chesterfield, VA) delivered a strong performance at the net, recording eight kills without an attacking error on 10 attempts and added two service aces and a solo block. In addition, Caddy added eight kills and three block assists, while Senior Reagan Holestin (Virginia Beach, VA) finished with seven kills, seven digs and an ace. As she has done all season, Sophomore Rylee Stewart (Newport News, VA) directed the Regent attack with 33 assists while also contributing nine digs and a service ace. Defensively, Sophomore Mykenah Antenore (San Diego, CA) anchored the back row with a match-high 19 digs and also contributed four assists and two service aces.
Game Two
Covenant captured the opening two sets before the Royals responded with their strongest stretch of the match in the third.
Regent battled Covenant point-for-point throughout much of the final frame, with the set featuring nine ties and six lead changes. The Royals continued to compete down the stretch and produced 17 points in the third, their highest total of the match.
Keefer once again paced the Regent offense, finishing with nine kills, as Wilson added three kills along with a solo block and service ace.
Stewart recorded nine assists and eight digs, while Antenore led the Royals defensively with 10 digs. Holestin added six digs, and Sophomore Keira Anderson (Leland, NC) contributed five digs and a service ace.
Regent will return home on Monday, September 28th when they host Saint Mary's College of Maryland. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm
