BEREA, KY. – The Maryville Scots wrapped up their time at the Mountaineer Invitational with three straight victories. The Scots opened the invitational with a 3-0 victory over Spalding before taking down Berea in a 3-1 victory and closing out the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Brevard Saturday afternoon.
Game One
Maryville defeated the Berea Mountaineers in a dominant 3-1 victory Saturday morning. Freshman Addison Appleby led the Scots with 16 kills, followed by Charli Grubbs with 11 and Ruby Walton with 10. Walton also dominated at the service line, recording seven aces, while Appleby added 10 digs. Dakota Vaiese provided a strong performance in support, posting 25 assists, seven digs and two aces.
The Scots dominated the statistical categories, holding significant advantages over the Mountaineers in kills (50-30), assists (45-28) and aces (17-4).
From the jump, Maryville was forced to play catch-up as Berea opened with a 5-2 run. A Mountaineer service error and four consecutive service aces from Walton gave the Scots their first lead of the morning at 7-5. Neither team could pull far ahead until several Maryville errors allowed Berea to build its largest lead of the set. Down five, the Scots responded with a 10-3 run, featuring kills from Walton, Appleby, Grubbs and Aubrey Gibson, along with service aces from Walton and Vaiese. Following a Berea bad set and attack error, Maryville captured the opening set, 25-23.
A Gibson kill opened the second set, and after a few scattered points from Berea, Grubbs ignited a quick 4-0 run that gave Maryville a lead it would not relinquish. Despite briefly interrupting the Scots' scoring, Berea could not string together enough points to slow Maryville's momentum. During several Maryville runs, Maddie Bouvier and Alana Barbarito made their first statistical appearances of the set, each recording an ace. Continued Berea errors helped Maryville build a 22-16 advantage before Appleby and Gibson recorded three consecutive kills to close out the set, 25-16.
Berea came out strong in the third set, opening with a 5-0 run. Maryville quickly returned the favor with a 13-5 run featuring Walton, Appleby, Vaiese, Grubbs and Jasmine Gross. The Scots continued to hold the lead and appeared poised to take the set while ahead 24-21, but a Berea kill halted the run. After exchanging the lead five times, the Mountaineers eventually pulled ahead to take the third set, 31-29.
Maryville wasted no time responding, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set behind a combined effort from Grubbs, Walton, Gross and Bouvier. The Mountaineers worked a few points back, but an Appleby service ace and Gibson kill ended Berea's short-lived run, giving the Scots an 18-10 advantage. After Berea added a few more points, Appleby recorded one final kill before a Mountaineer error ended the set, 25-17, securing the 3-1 victory for Maryville.
Game Two
The Scots took down former USA South foe Brevard in a dominant 3-0 sweep. Gross and Appleby led the way with nine kills apiece, while Vaiese posted a career-high 32 assists. Maryville dominated across the stat sheet, holding advantages in kills (40-25), assists (33-21) and digs (44-34). The most notable statistical difference came in hitting percentage, with the Scots recording a .277 mark compared to Brevard's .067.
Brevard quickly jumped ahead to an 8-3 lead, but Maryville wasted little time responding with a 12-5 run, highlighted by Walton, Appleby, Gibson and Grubbs. The Scots gradually built their lead to 20-18 before an Appleby kill and Walton ace sparked a 5-0 run, allowing Maryville to close out the set, 25-18.
Set two featured a back-and-forth battle between the two teams until Maryville strung together a kill and three consecutive service aces from Walton. Gross and Grubbs added kills of their own to extend the Scots' lead to 19-16. Following a Maryville service error, the Scots capitalized on three consecutive Brevard errors to claim the second set, 25-20.
The third set began with two Brevard errors, giving Maryville an early lead it would never relinquish. Of the Scots' 25 points, 12 came as a result of Brevard errors. Grubbs, Gross, Walton and Appleby each recorded kills in the final set, helping Maryville secure the 25-18 victory and complete the 3-0 sweep.
The Scots are back in action Friday, September 11, at 6:00 PM to open play at the Raleigh Classic. Maryville will take on Meredith Friday evening before finishing the Classic on Saturday with a matchup against former CCS foe LaGrange at 12:00 PM. The Scots will close out the tournament with an afternoon match against Johnson & Wales at 2:00 PM.
