VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Erskine College women's volleyball team (1-3) earned its first win of the young season on Day 2 at the Valdosta State Fall Tournament on Saturday. The Fleet defeated Winston-Salem State University (0-4) in four sets in the afternoon and then fell in straight sets to the hosts in the nightcap.
 
MATCH 1 STATS vs Winston-Salem State (3-1 FINAL, 25-18, 25-16, 11-25, 26-24)
KILLS: Becca Yohe (21)
ACES: Ailena Mykins (2)
BLOCKS: Becca Yohe (3)
ASSISTS: Ailena Mykins (32)
DIGS: Astyn Casey (16)

HOW IT HAPPENED
After WSSU won each of the first three points in the match, Erskine responded with consecutive kills from Ryleigh Taylor, Brianna Beyerle, and Becca Yohe to draw level. Set 1 remained a close contest until an Ailena Mykins ace capped another 3-0 spurt for the Fleet to give them a 13-10 lead. Moments later, back-to-back kills by Yohe extended Erskine's advantage to 17-12, and a few points later, Meghan DeWalt added an ace, making it 20-14 as the Fleet started to pull away. Yohe continued her dominant opening set with another kill followed by an ace on the ensuing point, before a Rams attack error sealed a Set 1 victory for the Fleet. Set 2 started much better for the Fleet, with four different Erskine players tallying a kill in their first five points to take an early lead. WSSU battled back and actually led 12-11 before the Fleet went on a rampaging 8-0 run behind some huge kills from Ali Angell and Yohe. Erskine rattled off five straight points later in the set, which included two more Yohe kills and an ace from Brianna Beyerle as Erskine jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match. The Rams controlled Set 3 from start to finish, but Danielle Thurston opened very entertaining Set 4 with a kill. Tied at 10, Winston-Salem State won the next four points, but Erskine immediately answered back by winning the next four points, behind kills from Angell and Yohe to level things at 14. WSSU regained its lead and looked to be forcing a fifth set, holding a 22-19 advantage. However, Taylor tallied kills on consecutive points to help Erskine draw level at 22, before a Yohe kill a few points later set up match point, which ended in a bad set by the Rams, giving Erskine a four-set win in its first match of the day.
 
THE TEAM
Erskine hit .201 (52 K / 21 E / 154 TA) for the match and racked up 7 aces, while holding WSSU to just a .187 hitting percentage.

THE PLAYER
Sophomore outside hitter Becca Yohe shined in the Fleet's first win of the season. Yohe totaled a match-high 21 kills on an efficient .300 hitting percentage, while also contributing defensively, leading the Fleet with 3 blocks and adding in 14 digs as well. Saturday was Yohe's fourth double-double of her Erskine career.

MATCH 2 STATS at Valdosta State (0-3 FINAL, 15-25, 16-25, 19-25)
KILLS: Becca Yohe (8)
ACES: 3 players with 1
BLOCKS: Ali Angell (1), Brianna Beyerle (1)
ASSISTS: Ailena Mykins (16)
DIGS: Astyn Casey (13)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Taking on the hosts, Valdosta State, to round out its four-match opening weekend, Erskine fell behind early, but freshman Alexis Waddy contributed three consecutive kills to get the Fleet within a point, 8-7, in the opening set. However, the Blazers regained their cushion and pulled away late in the first set. Set 2 followed the same path, with Erskine hanging around until a quick 5-0 run from the hosts opened up their lead. Astyn Casey and Meghan DeWalt each had aces in the set, but the VSU offense proved to be too powerful. The Fleet stuck close with the Blazers from start to finish in Set 3, with nice offensive performances from Becca Yohe and Ryleigh Taylor, but Erskine couldn't get over the hump and take a lead as they were defeated in straight sets to finish the weekend.
 
THE TEAM
Erskine hit just .076 (29 K / 21 E / 105 TA) for the match, while VSU posted a remarkable .416 hitting percentage. The Fleet were also outblocked by the Fleet, 9 to 2.

WHAT'S NEXT? 
Erskine takes part in another early-season invitational next weekend, as the Fleet travel to Bluefield, West Virginia for the Big Blue Classic. Erskine opens the weekend with a matchup against familiar foe, Lees-McRae College on Friday at 12 p.m., before taking on the hosts, Bluefield State College at 4 p.m.

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