Belhaven University Athletics

ATLANTA, Ga. - Belhaven responded to a narrow loss in the second set with a dominant third and went on to defeat Oglethorpe in four sets Saturday afternoon inside Dorough Field House.

The Blazers won by scores of 25-19, 24-26, 25-12 and 25-18 to improve to 4-6 on the season. Belhaven has now won four of its last five matches and picked up its first road victory of the year.

Belhaven established an early lead in the opening set, using three straight points to move in front, 9-4. The Blazers remained in control until Oglethorpe put together a four-point run to cut an 18-11 deficit to three.

Megan LaCour stopped the run with a kill, and Belhaven won five of the next six rallies to extend the lead to 23-16. After the Stormy Petrels pulled within four, Goldie Lowe delivered a kill and teamed with Laila Gauthier for a block to finish the 25-19 win.

Belhaven carried an 8-4 advantage into the middle stages of the second set after scoring four consecutive points. The Blazers later led 11-6, but Oglethorpe gradually worked its way back and tied the frame at 20.

The Stormy Petrels scored four straight to reach set point at 24-21 before Belhaven answered. An Oglethorpe attack error was followed by kills from Maggie Joy Tomlin and Lowe, evening the score at 24. Jane Pennington and Ava Adams responded with consecutive kills to give Oglethorpe the set, 26-24.

Belhaven quickly regained control in the third. Tomlin opened the set with back-to-back service aces, and a six-point run later pushed the Blazers' lead from 10-7 to 16-7. Tarryn Woodall supplied a kill and two aces during the surge, while LaCour capped it with a kill.

The Blazers turned in their best offensive set of the match, collecting 13 kills with just three errors on 21 swings for a .476 hitting percentage. A LaCour kill closed the 25-12 victory and gave Belhaven a 2-1 lead.

After the teams split the first four points of the fourth, Belhaven began to pull away. The Blazers scored three straight to take a 5-2 lead before putting together a seven-point run that extended the margin to 12-3.

Cami Davis recorded two kills and combined on two blocks during the decisive stretch. Tomlin also added a kill as Belhaven took command of the set.

Oglethorpe made a late push with five unanswered points, cutting the margin to 21-15, but a service error ended the run. Gauthier followed with a kill, and another Oglethorpe service error secured the 25-18 win.

Woodall led Belhaven with 14 kills on a .321 hitting percentage. The sophomore added nine digs, two aces and two block assists to finish with a match-high 17 points.

LaCour recorded nine kills and six block assists, while Gauthier added eight kills and four block assists. Tomlin filled the stat sheet with 34 assists, six kills, six digs, two aces and two block assists. She hit .400 with just two errors on 10 attacks.

Davis led all players with eight block assists and added four kills. Lowe contributed five kills, seven digs and six block assists, while Kayla Robinson finished with a match-high 14 digs, three assists and an ace.

Belhaven held a commanding 14-5 advantage in blocks and forced Oglethorpe into 36 attack errors. The Blazers hit .231 with 46 kills, while limiting the Stormy Petrels to a .039 percentage. Oglethorpe hit .000 or lower in three of the four sets.

Belhaven returns to Rugg Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to resume Collegiate Conference of the South play against Huntingdon. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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