UHSP Drops Close Match at Cottey

The Eutectic women's volleyball team battled to the end, but eventually lost in three close sets to host Cottey College in Nevada, Mo., on Saturday afternoon in American Midwest Conference (AMC) action. The Cottey Comets swept the match with scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25-23.

The Comets charged out of the gate, winning the first four points in a row of Set 1. Down 10-3, the Eutectics finally found their footing when Amber Loo put down a kill that sparked a four-point scoring run for the Visitors to close the gap to 10-7. The Comets, however, had surged ahead to a 22-13, when, with their backs against the wall, the Eutectics won seven of the next nine points, including an ace from Ava Baggett. After fending off four set-points, the Eutectics lost the set 25-20 to head into the second set down 1-0.

Set 2 started off close until, down 5-4, the Comets rattled off five points in a row. The Eutectics, however, maintained their composure. With Cottey up 16-12, the Eutectics put together a massive offensive, including kills from Hannah Kynaston (2), Sophia Michaud, and Sumanpreet Kaur, along with an ace by Macy Hendrix, to take the lead at 18-16. With UHSP up 20-19, the Comets rallied to win the final six points and claim the second set at 25-20.

The Eutectics came from behind in the third set to go up 8-5 with Hendrix at the service line again. After back-to-back kills from Kaur and Tera Schumacher put the Euts up 12-9, the Comets, again, rallied their offense to tie the lead at 13 apiece, then pulled ahead 22-16 after several kills. The Eutectics strung together three kills from Kaur (2) and Kynaston, along with another ace from Baggett to close the gap to 22-20. But a kill by the Comets' Raelin Calderon broke the streak, and despite more kills from Loo (2) and Schumacher, the Euts would never quite catch up, resulting in a final set score of 25-23.

Hannah Kynaston finished with a season-high 10 kills with only two errors on 25 attempts to lead the Eutectics on offense. Macy Hendrix and Ava Baggett combined for seven service aces. Jenna Brinson added to her 2000+ career assists, while she, Amber Loo, and Hannah Duggan all reached double-digit tallies in digs.

The Eutectics, now 3-25 overall and 0-6 in the AMC, will next host Stephens College (Mo.)(9-14, 4-1 AMC) on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the UHSP gymnasium. A JV match is scheduled for 5 p.m. with the varsity match following at 7 p.m.