BLUEFIELD, W.V. – The Erskine College women's volleyball team (2-4) split a pair of games in Day 1 at the Big Blue Classic, hosted by Bluefield State University, on Friday. The Fleet were beaten in straight sets against familiar foe Lees-McRae College (4-0) to start the day, but responded with a comeback win in five sets over Bluefield State (1-6) in the nightcap.
 
MATCH 1 STAT LEADERS vs Lees-McRae (0-3 FINAL, 13-25, 12-25, 22-25)
KILLS: Ali Angell (4), Becca Yohe (4)
ACES: Lauryn Doan (2)
BLOCKS: 4 players with 1
ASSISTS: Ailena Mykins (10)
DIGS: Rylee Bath (14)

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second consecutive weekend, Erskine kicked off its action with a non-conference match against a Conference Carolinas opponent. Senior middle blocker Sally Spangler opened the match with a kill to get the Fleet started on the right foot, and an Alexis Waddy kill a few points later helped keep EC within striking distance through the early stages. However, the Bobcats pulled away shortly after and the Fleet fell into a sizeable deficit. Erskine won five straight set points, including another Spangler kill and an ace from Ryleigh Taylor, but the margin was too large to overcome as Erskine dropped the opening set. Set 2 followed a similar trend with the Fleet taking a lead out of the gates, but a big LMC run helping the Bobcats pull away in the middle stages as the Fleet fell into a 2-0 deficit. For the third consecutive set, Erskine took the opening point, this time via a kill from Danielle Thurston. And Erskine battled Lees-McRae from start to finish in the third set. The Fleet got kills from six different players and were within a point and even level multiple times during the set, but couldn't get over the hump as they were beaten in straight sets to start the weekend.
 
THE PLAYER
Freshman middle blocker Ella Dietrich tallied 7 kills and no errors on her 15 swings, good for .467 hitting percentage. The Florida native also added in three aces and four blocks (all solo), both of which led the team, fueling the Fleet to a comeback victory.

THE TEAM
Erskine hit just .035 (21 K / 18 E / 86 TA) for the match, while Lees-McRae posted an impressive .326 hitting percentage.

MATCH 2 STAT LEADERS at Bluefield State (3-2 FINAL, 25-23, 18-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-13)
KILLS: Becca Yohe (18)
ACES: Ella Dietrich (3)
BLOCKS: Ella Dietrich (4)
ASSISTS: Ailena Mykins (27)
DIGS: Becca Yohe (13)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Taking on the hosts in the nightcap, Erskine quickly erased an early deficit in the opening set behind a flurry of kills from Becca Yohe and Danielle Thurston. The Big Blue fought back on numerous occassions in tightly contested first set. With Erskine trailing 23-22, a Bluefield State service error prevented the Fleet from facing a set point and leveled the match. Ailena Mykins followed with an ace, and Yohe finished the job with her sixth tally of the set. BSU responded by winning the next two sets and the Fleet saw themselves looking up at a deficit on the road. In Set 4, an early kill from Ali Angell capped a quick burst from the Fleet to hand them an 8-4 advantage. The Fleet kept the Big Blue at arms length through the middle stages before the junior opposite hitter posted another kill on set point to send the match the distance. Aces from Mykins and Ella Dietrich helped Erskine jump out to a quick 6-2 lead in the fifth set. Bluefield State climbed back level multiple times but never led thanks to clutch kills from Brenna Williams and Angell. Tied at 13, a service error by the home side set up one match point for Erskine. And the Fleet took full advantage, forcing another error out of the Big Blue to cap a big come-from-behind win.
 
THE TEAM
Erskine hit just .151 (53 K / 31 E / 146 TA) for the match, while Bluefield State hit .288. However, the Fleet made significantly fewer errors than the Big Blue to escape with a win.

WHAT'S NEXT? 
Erskine wraps up play in the Big Blue Classic on Saturday with two more matches, taking on Salem (2-4) at 10 a.m. before concluding the weekend with a matchup against West Virginia Wesleyan (4-2) at 2 p.m.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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