Eagles Drop Two on Day One in Kentucky

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Women's volleyball fell in a pair of tough matchups to begin the 2021 season in the Vette City Classic as Tennessee Southern was victorious in five sets – 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 12-15 – before Georgetown (Ky.) took care of business by the count of 25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 18-25.

"Tough day one with two winnable matches, but we still have much to work on in order to get where we need to be," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "That is what these matches are for and I do hope our team is able to take advantage of that. We are heavy in experience, and my hope is, we will be able to lean into that… I'm not going to try to make some big speech. The talent is there, and our hope is we can fine tune some things and that this group of girls can find their flow.

"To God goes all the Honor and Glory, win or lose."

Reinhardt vs. Tennessee Southern (L, 3-2)

• The Eagles and FireHawks – formerly Martin Methodist (Tenn.) – opened their seasons with a slugfest inside Ephram White Gym on Friday afternoon with Tennessee Southern coming from behind to win, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 12-15.
• Reinhardt held a 2-1 advantage after three sets of play, but couldn't close out the opposition after leading the fourth set, 20-17. The FireHawks would call timeout and end the stanza on an 8-3 run to send the match to a fifth game.
• The deciding set would have even more drama, as the Eagles came back from a three-point deficit (8-5) to take a 12-9 lead with only three more tallies to go. The tables would be turned, however, as Tennessee Southern ended the outing with six-consecutive scores to earn victory.
• As a team, the hometown squad hit .138. Individually, Kaitlyn Rieke had a club-best 13 kills (.333), and was followed closely by Shelby Glawson's 11. Jacoby Sims also added a half-dozen scores and hit .385.
• Reinhardt gathered 73 digs in defeat, an effort that was paced by Holly Heath's 23. She was also responsible for six of the Eagles' 14 aces. Abby Infante tallied six solo rejections on defense as well. 

Reinhardt vs. Georgetown (Ky.) (L, 3-1)

• The Tigers of Georgetown (Ky.) were able to take a 1-1 tie and win the final two stanzas to push the Eagles to 0-2 on day one of the new season following a 25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 18-25 final.
• The non-conference battle was tied a 1-1, and again the hometown squad found itself ahead in game three (16-13), but the Tigers roared to a 9-0 scoring spree and a 22-16 advantage. Reinhardt clawed back with six of the next eight points – including four in-a-row – but Georgetown claimed a 2-1 overall cushion after an Eagle error.
• Reinhardt stormed out to a 5-0 lead in stanza four, but again, the Tigers took back momentum with eight-consecutive points. The Eagles never gave up, tying the scoreboard at 11-11, but couldn't hold down their opponents from taking the set and the match.
• Reinhardt hit .174 as a group, and Kaitlyn Rieke (10 kills) and Shelby Glawson (10 scores) both hit double-digits on offense again. Abbey Tucker added nine kills and a .375,
• The offense combined for 38 assists, and was paced by Holly Heath's nine dimes – to go with 21 defensive receptions.

The team gets right back on the court tomorrow afternoon for another pair of matchups beginning at 12:30 p.m. against Thomas More (Ky.). You can watch this contest live here.

The nightcap is a clash against Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) tentatively scheduled for 8 p.m. 

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