Ravens Grind Out Split with Grizzlies

The Anderson University Ravens (1-3, 0-2) traveled to take on the Grizzlies of Franklin College (1-3, 1-1) and split the doubleheader on Saturday.

Match 1, which is considered a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) contest, saw an intense battle go on in the second set. The Grizzlies took Match 1, 25-20, 36-34, 22-25, 25-13, over the Ravens. Match 2, a non-conference match-up, the Ravens came back from an early deficit in the first set and won, 11-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 19-17.

"I was very pleased to see the fight that we showed in both matches," Coach Tami Miller said. "We have weaknesses in our defense. Both our blocking and ball control need to improve, but we showed a great deal of resilience to pull out a win. We have a young offense that will continue to get better as we move through the season. However, our unforced errors are limiting our success."

MATCH 1: FRANKLIN 3, ANDERSON 1

The Ravens fought hard, but fell short in Match 1 of the days. The second set saw an exciting battle on the offensive side, with neither side letting the other get much of a lead, ultimately the Ravens fell short 36-34. Through the third set the Ravens kept it close and earned themselves a 25-22 win. They were unable to push for a fifth set and fell to the Grizzlies in the fourth 25-13, giving the Grizzlies a 3-to-1 match victory. Tess Perdue (Lexington, Ky./West Jessamine) led the Ravens 13 kills, as well as 8 digs. Erin Roach (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) had herself a big game on defense, recording 24 digs. On the offensive end, Roach had 5 service aces. Sydney McClain (Urbana, Ohio/Emmanuel Christian Academy) had 12 kills for the match.

MATCH 2: ANDERSON 3, FRANKLIN 2

The Ravens were able to come back from their Match 1 loss and defeat the Grizzlies in five sets. After taking a tough loss in the first set, the Ravens bounced back and took set two 25-23. Set three went in favor of the Grizzlies before the Ravens came back and took back-to-back sets to bring home a 3-to-2 victory. Shaylen Perry (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) recorded 12 kills and 8 digs for match two to help the Ravens towards victory. Roach once again led the team in digs, this time with 29. McClain fought hard, recording 9 kills, 23 digs, and 2 service aces.

UP NEXT

The Ravens welcome the Fightin' Engineers of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1-1, 1-1) on Tuesday to the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium for their first home contest of the season. The match is set to take place at 6 p.m.