The Basics

Score: Evangel 0, (RV) College of Saint Mary 3 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (9-1), College of Saint Mary (9-5)

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Valor Volleyball concluded the Evangel Classic on Saturday (Sept. 7) morning, hosting the College of Saint Mary Flames, in search of their 10th win of the season.

The Valor had their first bump in the road of the season, struggling defensively in the game, falling to CSM in three straight sets.

Set one proved to be a battle, as both teams traded points until the Valor took a 13-10 lead on a 4-0 run, fueled by kills from Loran Pritchett and Cienna Turner. The Valor took a lead as late as 17-13, but an 8-1 run after a timeout for CSM put the Flames ahead, 21-18. EU was able to even the score at 23-23, but CSM scored the final two points of the set, taking it 25-23.

The Valor struggled to open the second set, going down 16-5. It appeared all had been lost with such a large deficit, but Evangel began to chip away at the Saint Mary lead. Kills by Loran Pritchett and Vivianna Sanchez accompanied by several attacking errors turned the set around for EU, as the Valor tied the score up, 20-20, using a 15-4 run. After such a hard fight to get back into the set, Evangel was unable to generate enough offense to close it out, as the Flames ended the set on a 5-1 run, taking a 25-21 win in set two.

The final set of the afternoon was almost an exact replica of set one. Both teams opened the set trading points, as neither team could make much distance between one another. Once again, Evangel took a late lead behind several more kills from Sanchez and Pritchett, but CSM always found the final two points of the set, taking a 27-25 win and sweep of EU in the third set.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Loran Pritchett finished with a team high 19 kills.

• Jessica Pritchett led the team with 20 assists in the loss.

• Kenna Wise led the team with 24 digs.

• Vivianna Sanchez finished with four blocks.

• Bella Wakley served a pair of aces to lead the Valor.

UP NEXT

Evangel travels to St. Louis next Friday and Saturday, taking on Freed-Hardeman and Cottey on day one of the UHSP classic, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.