MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Maryville College volleyball team (6-4, 0-3) fell in a heartbreaking five-set conference home opener to Sewanee (6-6, 2-2) Wednesday evening. The Scots finished the match with 55 kills, 58 digs, 46 assists, nine aces and six blocks. Addison Appleby led Maryville with 15 kills, followed by Charli Grubbs with 10 and Ruby Walton with eight. Dakota Vaiese recorded 23 assists, while Megan Fairburn added 18. Kyrah Bowles led the Scots defensively with 16 digs. The match also marked Fairburn's 1,000th career assist.

Sewanee opened the first set with two kills and an ace before a service error ended the early run. Maryville quickly answered, with Grubbs recording a kill and Lexi Davis adding a service ace to tie the set at 6-6. The teams continued to trade points throughout the set, which featured 14 ties. Kills from Aubrey Gibson, Fairburn, Appleby and Grubbs helped the Scots take a 17-14 lead late in the set. Maryville held a two-point advantage at set point, but Sewanee responded with three straight points to take the lead. A Sewanee kill followed by a Maryville attack error ended the set, 27-25, in favor of the Tigers.

Maryville came out strong in the second set, with Appleby and Grubbs recording early kills before Bowles added a service ace. Three straight kills from Davis extended the Scots' lead, while two more kills from Appleby helped Maryville build an 11-6 advantage. Sewanee attempted to close the gap, but Grubbs added another kill before Bowles' second ace of the set sealed the 25-20 victory for the Scots.

Set three featured another back-and-forth battle, with Grubbs, Bowles, Davis and Appleby all contributing early points for Maryville. Trailing 14-10, the Scots used a 7-4 run to cut the deficit to two. Maryville continued to battle and eventually tied the set at 20-20 after back-to-back kills from Fairburn. Sewanee answered with a late push, taking the third set, 25-23.

The Scots controlled the early stages of the fourth set, with six different Maryville players contributing during a 15-8 run. Appleby added a kill, while Vaiese followed with back-to-back service aces to help Maryville maintain its advantage. The Scots closed out the set, 25-19, to force a deciding fifth set.

Sewanee jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the final set, forcing Maryville to battle back early. Walton recorded a kill, while three Sewanee errors helped the Scots cut the deficit to 7-5. Walton added another kill to keep Maryville within striking distance, but Sewanee closed out the set, 15-6, to secure the 3-2 victory.

The Scots return to action Friday, Oct. 2, when they take on Oglethorpe at 4:30 PM to open play at the Berry Quad Match.