Two thrilling comebacks lead to Saturday split for volleyball

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Though the season is just two days old, the Union College volleyball team's flare for late-game comebacks is already in midseason form.

After dropping the first two sets against Florida College and Bethel (Tenn.), the Bulldogs came roaring back to force a fifth set in each match, winning the first 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-12 before falling 14-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 10-15 in the second on day two of the Vette City Classic Saturday.

Against Florida College, the Bulldogs were able to close out a tight third set thanks to the connection of Maddy McGaughey and Raquel Kessler. Kessler gave Union a 24-21 lead with a kill off a McGaughey pass. Then, after the Falcons scored two straight, the duo connected again with Kessler pounding home the winning point.

Union looked to have a little breathing room with a 21-17 lead in set four, only for the lead to once again shrink to 24-23. But once again, the front line came through, this time via an unassisted Alison Smith kill.

The Bulldogs then started and finished strong to complete the comeback in the decisive fifth set. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead and broke a 12-12 tie by scoring the last three points by virtue of a hitting error and kills by Kessler and Madison Jennings.

It was the second day in a row Union rallied for a thrilling win at the Vette City Classic. The Bulldogs fought off match point twice in a five-set win over Mobile (Ala.) Friday.

Kessler finished the match with 20 kills, with Smith (13) and Jennings (11) also reaching double figures. Kessler also led all players with six blocks.

McGaughey and Kaelyn Faul each reached double-figures in assists and digs, McGaughey recording 25 and 15, Faul going for 13 and 15.

Another comeback seemed unlikely against Bethel after the Wildcats won each of the first two sets by double digits.

But the Bulldogs came out swinging in set three, building a lead as big as six before finishing things off with another Kessler kill off another McGaughey pass. With Union ahead 24-21 in set four, Bethel put the pressure on again, scoring on back-to-back hitting errors before Jennings came through with a kill to send it into a decisive set.

But after Union built up a 7-4 lead, the magic ran out. The Wildcats responded with a 4-0 run, then after Union got within 11-10, went on another 4-0 run to finally put the pesky Bulldogs away.

Faul had another double-double in the win, recording 17 assists and 11 digs while also scoring a team-high four service aces. McGaughey also had 17 assists with Smith and Michaela Cox getting 13 and 10 kills respectively.

For their efforts, Kessler and teammate Emily Schumaker were each selected to the All-Tournament Team.

The Bulldogs return for another two-day, four-match invitational next Friday and Saturday, as they'll take part in the Racer Rumble in Lima, Ohio. They kick off play with a 4 p.m. match against Northwestern Ohio on Friday.