Danville, Va. (Sept. 14, 2023) --The Pfeiffer volleyball team cruised to a three-set sweep (25-19, 25-22, 25-14) over Virginia University-Lynchburg on Thursday afternoon at E Stuart James Grant Center on the campus of Averett University.  Pfeiffer would then fall to the host Cougars in their second match of the evening.

The non-conference split brings the Falcons' overall record to 3-2 on the season.

The Falcons attack against VU-L was paced by Morgan Shrader, who finished with 12 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .526, and by Madison Tate, who had 10 while hitting .5. got 5 digs from Shrader to lead them defensively.

Match Notes vs VU-L

» Gabby Edwards had a team-high two aces in the win.
» Pfeiffer served up six aces on the way to a first-set victory.
» Morgan Shrader had a match-high 12 kills for Pfeiffer.
» Pfeiffer got a team-high five digs from Morgan Shrader.
» Pfeiffer attackers were helped by a team-high nine assists from Karmen Rion.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Pinpoint serving helped the Falcons take the first set 25-19. Pfeiffer recorded six aces in the set victory. The Falcons opened up a 24-15 lead in the stanza and coasted to victory from there.

SET 2 | Pfeiffer took set two 25-22 to quickly grab a 2-0 lead. The Falcons never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 22-21 in a set that had just one lead change before the Falcons took over in the second half of the stanza. The Pfeiffer offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.

SET 3 | Pfeiffer finished off the match in a 3-0 sweep after winning the third set. The Falcons grabbed control of the set early when the score was 4-3 and never looked back to win 25-14. Pfeiffer led by as many as 12 points at 22-10 before closing out the stanza.

Against Averett, sophomore Madison Tate finished with eight kills on the day to lead the Falcons attack while finishing with a hitting percentage of .538. got 13 digs from Gabby Edwards to lead them defensively.

Match Notes vs. Averett

» Daniella Balducci had a team-high one ace in the loss.
» Madison Tate had a team-high eight kills for Pfeiffer.
» Pfeiffer got a match-high 13 digs from Gabby Edwards.
» Pfeiffer attackers were helped by a team-high 13 assists from Kylee Mayberry.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Falcons found themselves in an early deficit, losing the first set 25-21. Averett grabbed the advantage for good at 22-21 in a set that was tied up five times before the Cougars took over in the second half of the stanza.

SET 2 | Pfeiffer then lost the second set 25-13 to fall behind in the match two sets to none. Pfeiffer trailed by as many as 12 points as Averett grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 in a set that was tied up two times before the Cougars took over the lead.

SET 3 | Pfeiffer couldn't prolong the match and lost in set number three. The Falcons dropped a tough set 25-16. Pfeiffer trailed by as many as nine points as Averett grabbed the advantage for good at 8-7 in a set that was tied up six times before the Cougars took over the lead.

Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Buena Vista, Va for a USA South tri-match on Saturday, Sept. 16.  Pfeiffer will play the host Knights of Southern Virginia at Noon and will then take on Meredith at 2:00 p.m.