ATLANTA, Ga. - The Berry College Vikings volleyball team bounced back from two surprising losses as they took down the Washington & Lee University Generals 3-1 to start play at the Emory National Invitational on Friday afternoon.
The Vikings came out of the gates fast on a 4-0 run but the Generals came right back to tie it 8-8. The Vikings would once again inch back ahead as they took a 13-10 lead off a big block by Cali Armstead and Ava Brovet. The Generals continued to keep it close and would battle back to tie it 18-18. The Vikings then roared to life with a 5-0 run led by two kills from Madie Whitehead to take a 23-18 lead. The Generals didn't give up though as they came back to make it 24-23 but the Vikings held on to take set one as Brovet set up Armstead for the set clinching kill to put the Vikings up 1-0.
The Generals looked to answer in the second set as they took an early 7-4 lead but the Vikings would come back on a 4-0 run with three more kills from Whitehead to take an 8-7 lead. The Vikings would then stretch their lead to 14-11 with another kill from Whitehead but once again the Generals rallied to tie the game 19-19. The Vikings would go on to lead 22-19 but every time they stretched it out the Generals would come back as they would eventually take a 26-25 lead. The Vikings didn't let up as they finished the set on a 3-0 run with Keira Kruk kill sealing a 28-26 win and putting the Vikings up 2-0.
The Vikings tried to close out the Generals in three sets as they took an early 4-1 lead but this time the Generals found some life and came storming back to take a commanding 20-11 lead. The Vikings tried to fight back as they went on a 6-1 run while trailing 22-13 to pull within 23-19 led by three kills from Kruk. The Vikings ran out of time though as the Generals closed out the set to win 25-20 and make it 2-1.
The Vikings grabbed back momentum in the fourth set as they grinded out to a 10-6 lead with two more kills from Kruk. The Generals fought to keep it close but the Viking came storming to life with a 7-1 run with two big blocks and two kills from Cali Armstead to take a commanding 20-12 lead. The Generals tried to stay alive as they rallied twice to make it 22-17 and later 24-20 but the Vikings weren't about to allow any comebacks as Brovet set up Whitehead once again for the game winning kill to win 25-20 and 3-1.
Whitehead led the Vikings with 19 kills while Brovet led with 40 assists and Armstead led with eight blocks while Andrea Hurt racked up 37 digs.Â
