HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Stillman College volleyball team built a lead, but couldn't hold off a gritty Oakwood University Ambassadors squad as the Tigers fell in five sets Saturday night in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference action.
Stillman fell to 2-15 overall and 1-6 in the HBCUAC, while Oakwood moved to 9-7 on the season and 5-3 in conference competition.
Ava Cameron tallied 12 kills to lead the squad, while
Paige Eason and
Brianna Moore both added 11 kills.
Kelis Conley passed a match-leading 24 assists, and
Karen White added 13 assists.
Zoey Sales led the back row with 29 digs,
Shelby Morris posted 16 digs, Conley had 12 digs and
Gracie Fjeldstad added 10 digs.
Oakwood (27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-9) claimed the first set with extra points. Stillman jumped ahead 21-13 following a kill from Eason, but the Ambassadors closed the gap with seven of the next eight points in the game to get down 22-20. Following a kill from Conley to put the Tigers ahead 23-20, OU put together a 7-2 run to claim the opener 27-25.
The Ambassadors pushed to a 4-1 lead early in the second set, but Stillman rallied to force a 4-4 tie following a service ace from
Katelyn Lawson. The squads traded points until the Tigers pulled ahead 15-12 after an ace from Conley. OU battled back to even the game at 17-17. Another back-and-forth run from both teams went the way of Stillman when a kill from Cameron and an Oakwood attack error gave the Tigers a 25-23 win.
The third set nearly mirrored the previous game. Stillman went up 15-11 following a kill by Sales, but Oakwood forced a 15-15 tie. The Ambassadors went up 21-19 before the Tigers put on a run to close the door, capped by an ace from Lawson to win the set 25-23.
In the fourth, OU gave up the big lead as the squad went ahead 17-12 when Stillman closed the gap to 18-17 thanks to a kill from Eason. However, the Ambassadors kept a distance between themselves and Stillman on the way to a 25-21 win to force a decisive fifth set.
The fifth belonged to Oakwood, as the home squad jumped out to a 10-4 advantage before extending its lead to 14-5. Stillman attempted to rally with three straight points, capped by a kill from Cameron to close the gap to 14-9. Unfortunately, an attack error by the Tigers led to a heartbreaking 15-9 loss in the set and a 3-2 match loss for Stillman.
Stillman College returns to action Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama, against the hosting Faulkner University Eagles.
