Pioneer Volleyball Drops Pair at CIU Invitational

COLUMBIA, S.C. – On the first day of the CIU Invitational, the Spartanburg Methodist College volleyball team dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions to host Faulkner (Ala.) and Columbia International University.

In the loss to Faulkner, the Pioneers dropped a 27-25, 25-20, 25-21 decision. SMC managed to hit at a .114 clip. Brantlie Price paced SMC with a team-best 10 kills. Brook Noe added 17 assists and Aurora Aho had a season-high five service aces.

 The first set saw a 4-1 spurt by the Eagles take a 9-4 lead until Aho led brought he Pioneers back with three of her five services to tie the set at 24. Faulkner scored three of the next four points to secure the opening set by a 27-25 margin.

 The second set saw SMC in front for most of the set until Faulkner scored four-straight points in the set to take a 20-17 lead. The Eagles remained in front en route to a 25-20.

The third set saw the two teams tied on six occasions, including at 20. The Eagles of Faulkner closed out the win with five of the next six points to secure the match.

The second match of the day saw SMC lose by a 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 match to host CIU. Makinnley Smart led the Pioneers with nine kills, Tristan Craine added 17 assists and Kendall Meinders paced the frontline with four blocks – a block solo and three block assists.

The first set saw SMC hit at a .286 clip compared to a .282 effort by CIU. The Rams raced out to a 9-2 lead on its way to winning the first set. Back-to-back kills by Smart erased a pair of set-point opportunities for the Lions until Katie Camp of CIU came away with a kill to clinch the set.

A 5-0 run by CIU erased an early lead by the Pioneers for an 8-6 lead. The Lions would go on to lead for the rest of the set.

The third set was tied on three occasions. Tied at nine, CIU scored three-straight on its way to a lead for the remainder of the set. With a one-point lead,12-11, the Lions spoiled scored six in a row to spoil the comeback hopes for the Pioneers on its way to a 25-18 lead.

With the two losses, SMC falls to 5-7 on the season. The Pioneers will close out the tournament on Sunday to face UM Dearborn at 11 a.m. and Reinhardt (Ga.) at 3 p.m.