Box Score

Demorest, GA -- The Piedmont College volleyball team couldn't resist giving their hometown fans yet another thrill in the Cave during the 2011 season as Piedmont won three tight sets to knock off LaGrange College 3-0 in tonight's semifinal nightcap of the 2011 Great South Athletic Conference championship tournament.  In one of the Lady Lions' closest matches of the year, Piedmont dug deep when it counted most winning by two points in two sets while needing a tiebreak winner in the other to get past the Panthers and set up a date with the tournament's top seed, Maryville, in tomorrow's championship game which also be hosted on campus in Cave Arena at 1:00 pm.

In a match that featured 18 ties throughout the action including nine in the final set alone, Piedmont found itself deadlocked with the Panthers in a hard fought first set at 23-23 making it a first to two scenario for the early match lead.  A kill from junior Hallye Jerkins and a ball handling error on the Panthers proved the final difference in the opener as Piedmont got back-to-back points for the 25-23 win in set number one.

The second set would be even tighter as all was almost lost for PC late as the home team trailed 24-21 with LaGrange needing just a single point to pull even on the match.  As four of Piedmont's six players on the court for the end of that second set had been a part of the 2010 team who won the GSAC tournament, the Lady Lions drew upon its championship experience to fight off three set points winning five consecutive rallies to come on out on top in set number two as well 26-24.

Despite the crushing blow dealt by PC in the second set, the Panthers of LaGrange showed their own grit refusing to fold in the third set playing a thriller in front of a packed and rowdy house as the Lady Lions trailed halfway through 19-16.  However, a service error care of LaGrange, a powerful block from Jerkins and Ashley Fannon, and a kill from Fannon put Piedmont right back in it at 19-19, the eighth of nine ties in what would become the final set of the night.

The two clubs continued to battle from that 19-19 tie though PC never again trailed winning the next point on a rare kill from setter Ashton Nash who alertly dumped the ball past the Panther front row with Piedmont starting to take control on the way to a 24-22 lead.  After a kill from LaGrange's Nicole Wilson put the Lady Lions' advantage in danger, senior Rachel Powell stepped up to put Head Coach Sid Feldman at ease powering her sixth kill of the evening through the LaGrange block on the right side with the ball bouncing to the floor to give Piedmont the 25-23 third set win in a 3-0 sweep of the Panthers.

2011 GSAC Freshman of the Year Jennifer Opper was tied for the team lead in total kills with ten but led all hitters with a .348 attack percentage on 23 total chances making just two errors on the evening.  Also getting ten kills was fellow freshman Katilin Norman whose dynamic ability at the net helped charge up the home crowd at the Cave more than once as the youngster tabbed a double-double with 12 digs as well.

Junior middle Hallye Jerkins was next on the list with eight kills while also collecting three block assist defensively and adding four digs to the cause.  Determined to play one more home match in her final season for PC, senior Rachel Powell showed up in key moments for the Lady Lions as well with six kills including the final kill of the night and the 200th of her season as her slide on the final play of the match helped Piedmont seal the three set sweep and sent the team to the tournament's championship game.

In the assist department, it was once again the sophomore tandem of Katheryn Knarr and Ashton Nash who continued to bring it with 16 and 17 helpers respectively as Nash went over 500 assists for the year.  Each setter also added help in the defensive side with 12 combined digs though junior libero Paige Eslinger once again led in that category with 15 on the evening.

The victory moves Piedmont to 22-13 overall as the Lady Lions have now won four straight matches in GSAC postseason play dating back to their championship run of 2010.  The Lady Lions hope to make it five straight tomorrow afternoon as such a win would hand Piedmont its second straight title though the top seed Maryville College stands directly in the way of PC's back-to-back hopes.  The Scots await Piedmont in Saturday's GSAC tournament championship game set for 1:00 pm in Cave Arena.