HATTIESBURG, Miss. — William Carey’s volleyball team overcame a two-set deficit to beat Life University in five sets Friday night at the Ben Waddle Sports Facility.
The opening set was close until Life used a 10-2 run to build a 16-8 lead. The Running Eagles extended their advantage to 20-12, but Carey responded with an 8-0 run, tying the score at 20-20. The teams traded points down the stretch before Life secured a 25-23 victory.
Life carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Carey answered with a run of four of five points to narrow the gap. The Lady Crusaders later surged ahead 14-10, thanks to a balanced attack with kills, aces, and blocks. Carey maintained control and led 18-13 before Life responded with a 9-1 run to take the set, 25-22, and go up 2-0 in the match.
Facing elimination, Carey battled back in the third set. With Life leading 12-11, Carey used an 8-3 run to take control. Despite Life trimming the deficit, back-to-back attacking errors from the Eagles helped Carey win the set, 25-23.
The fourth set saw Carey jump to an 11-3 lead and extend it to 17-8, ultimately winning 25-17 to force a decisive fifth set. The final set was highly competitive, with Life holding a 10-5 lead at one point. Carey rallied with key blocks, kills, and a service ace to tie the score at 10-10. Life reached match point first at 14-13, but Carey responded with a clutch kill from Alejandra Villarreal and a service ace from Payton McClarren to take a 16-14 victory and complete the comeback.
William Carey will host Point University on Saturday at the Ben Waddle Sports Facility, with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m., according to school officials.
