Upset alert! Volleyball takes down AAC leader Bryan

DAYTON, Tenn. - After letting a chance to upset conference leader Bryan slip away early, Union wouldn't waste such opportunities in the decisive fifth set.

Madison Jennings and Michaela Cox teamed up for the winning point on a block and the Bulldogs handed the Lions just their second defeat in 19 Appalachian Athletic Conference matches by the tally of 25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 19-25, 15-13.

After winning the first set behind a pair of late Alison Smith kills and dominating the second, the wheels fell off late in the third and fourth set for the Bulldogs. They surrendered six consecutive points after taking an 18-16 lead in the third set and five straight after rallying to tie the fourth at 18.

After jumping ahead 5-2, then grabbing an 8-7 lead on an Emily Shumaker kill at the midway point of set five, things took a dangerous turn again, as the Lions scored the next three points to go up 10-8.

But off a timeout, Union regained its composure while the Lions lost theirs. Shumaker blasted another kill, and her point was followed by consecutive Bryan attack errors. The teams then traded kills before another Bryan error set up match point at 14-13.

From there, Jennings and Cox helped give a surging Bulldog team its signature win, rising in unison to deny Abby Rector at the net.

Shumaker finished with 19 kills, with five of them coming in the final set. The balanced passing of recent games was on display again, as Jordan Kusan (27) and Kaelyn Faul (21) each finished with more than 20 assists.

Faul also had four service aces while Maddy McGaughey had 24 digs.

After losing six straight, the Bulldogs have responded by winning five of their last six to improve to 13-14 overall and 8-9 in AAC play. They also got their first win against a top-five team in the league standings, having entered the night 0-7 in such contests.

The Bulldogs look to keep things rolling with a pair of home matches this weekend, starting with a 6:30 p.m. matchup with Brenau (Ga.) on Friday.