SEWANEE, Tenn. – Sewanee volleyball split its first day of Southern Athletic Association play on Saturday at the conference pod hosted by Oglethorpe. The Tigers dropped their opener to Southwestern, 3-0, before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Millsaps in the evening to close the day at 7-5 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Savannah Gann paced the Tigers with 28 kills across two matches, while adding 26 digs.
Anna Ellison chipped in 17 kills on the day, highlighted by 13 on a .370 clip in the nightcap, and
Suna Merkler finished with 16 kills and 18 digs. Setter
Emma Meyer directed the offense with 68 assists and 28 digs over the two contests, and libero
Sophia Caruso anchored the back row with 50 digs, including a match-high 38 against Millsaps.
Sydney Bixby added 10 kills and four blocks.
In the nightcap, Gann powered the offense against Millsaps with 19 kills and 17 digs, hitting .294 while also adding a service ace and a block. Ellison tallied 13 kills with three block assists, Merkler contributed 11 kills and nine digs, and Bixby posted six kills and four blocks. Meyer guided the attack with 45 assists and 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, while Caruso anchored the defense with 38 digs. Sewanee hit .216 as a team, posting 55 kills and four aces, while limiting Millsaps to just .081 hitting across four sets.
Sewanee started strong in set one, hitting .222 as a team with 13 kills. Gann and Ellison combined for seven kills in the frame, and the Tigers used a 6-2 run late to create separation before closing it out on a Millsaps attack error.
The second frame was the tightest of the night, featuring 13 ties and five lead changes. Sewanee trailed 21-20 before Merkler and Ellison delivered back-to-back kills to regain the edge. A final kill from Gann gave the Tigers the two-set lead.
Millsaps avoided the sweep by capitalizing on Sewanee miscues in the third set. Gann posted six kills in the set, but the Majors used a late 5-2 run to pull away, winning the frame on a kill from Ally Baer.
Sewanee regrouped in the clincher, hitting .255 with 15 kills. Ellison was dominant at the net, and Bixby added two timely kills during a mid-set run. Caruso's defense steadied the back row, and the Tigers closed on a 5-1 run capped by a Merkler kill to secure the victory.
In the first match of the day, Southwestern pulled out the opening two sets late and went on to defeat the Tigers, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16. Gann finished with nine kills, Meyer posted 23 assists, and Caruso tallied 12 digs.
Sewanee stayed close in the first set behind kills from Gann, Ellison, Merkler,
Mollie White, and
Charlotte Lee, but the Pirates closed with a 7-4 run. The Tigers led midway through the second frame behind kills from Ellison, Gann, and Bixby and a service ace from
Laney Barnes, before Southwestern rallied with five of the final six points. The Pirates built a 10-3 lead in the third before Sewanee fought back with an 8-3 run sparked by a block from Meyer and
Nicole Radford and kills from Gann and Merkler, but Southwestern finished off the sweep with kills from Chloe Blanchard and Emily Marks.
Sewanee returns to action on Sunday to wrap up the pod with a conference matchup against host Oglethorpe at 1 pm ET/Noon CT.
