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Box Score 2 MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – Mississippi University for Women Head Volleyball Coach
Halee Hensley's young team gave fans a preview of the good things to come, as it navigated a gauntlet of national-caliber competition at the Berry College Tournament. In Saturday's finale, the Owls lost a tough, three-set, battle to NCAA Division III No. 8-ranked Berry College and then dropped a tight match to unbeaten Sewanee in their finale.
The Owls lost to the hometown Vikings by set scores of 17-25, 7-25, 16-25. The W was defeated in its afternoon match by the Tigers, 21-25, 20-25, 19-25
On Friday, further demonstrating the degree of difficulty in the season-opening Berry Tourney, upstart The W lost to Maryville College, which received votes in the 2021 AVCA NCAA III pre-season coaches poll.
"The ladies played well the first and final set against Berry," Owls Head Coach Hensley said. "The second set we played very scared and timid. Berry is ranked top-10 in D3, so us competing with them that close for most of the game is great!"
MUW and nationally-ranked Berry stayed close to each other throughout the bulk of the first set, with neither team leading by more than three points most of the way. The Vikings upped their advantage to 19-15 and led 21-17, before reeling off the final four points of set one.
Berry showed why it is in the NCAA III top-10 as it came out on fire in set two, jumping out to a 7-0 lead and forcing an Owls' timeout. The W could not overcome their cold start and dropped set two, 25-7.
The third set against Berry saw The W trailing 6-2 to open the set. But MUW clawed its way back to trail by one, 8-7. However, the host Vikings would go on a 7-0 run to dash any Owls' upset hopes.
Jasmine Kelly (Louisville, MS/Grace Christian HS) led The W with three kills and two serve aces versus the Vikings.
On the defensive half,
Maggie Griggs (Tupelo, MS/Tupelo HS),
Llayne Skinner (Danville, AL/Danville HS) ,
Madison Suggs (Caledonia, MS/Caledonia HS) and
Camryn Johnson (Caledonia, MS/Caledonia HS) each contributed four digs. The trio of Griggs, Skinner and Suggs combined for a strong .950 receiving percentage, making just two errors in 40 receiving attempts.
In the Sewanee setback, The W backrow turned in a strong .940 receiving percentage to help keep the Owls in the Tigers' view and just one scoring run away from perhaps a different outcome. MUW's
Zoe Hansen (Caledonia, MS/Caledonia HS) committed just one error in 26 reception tries, good for a .962 average. Hansen also chipped in three kills and 10 digs toward the MUW cause.
The libero Suggs had a team-best 11 digs and a .938 (15-16) receiving percentage. Johnson and Griggs had six and five digs, respectively, to bolster the backrow. Setter
Hannah Duran (Madison, MS/Germantown HS) booked 11 assists.
Griggs led the attack versus Sewanee with seven kills. Duran added four kills and a .214 attack average for the match.
"The ladies played great this weekend," Hensley reflected. "I saw so many great things - and things that we've never done in practice - this weekend. Great things to come this season."
The Owls will next be in action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn. Start time is slated for 6 p.m.
