Ferrum Volleyball commenced its inaugural Division 2 season with a win over Johnson & Wales University, and continued to keep a positive record over four games.
The Panthers stormed out of the gate, outscoring the Wildcats 6-1 through 7 points. Sophomore Harleigh Propst’s 4 assists and 2 kills on the set allowed Ferrum to clinch the win, 25-16.
Momentum rolled over through the next set, with Junior Catherine Bennette adding 4 kills to her total on the game, leading the Panthers to take it 25-10.
The final set of the game saw Junior Makayla Rumley pick up her final 3 kills, setting her as the team leader in kills on the game with 10, followed closely by Bennette with 9. Ferrum cruised to a 25-12 victory on the set, closing out the game with a clean 3-0 sweep.
It was a quick turnaround for Ferrum, as they played their second game of the season against the Virginia Union Panthers just three hours after the conclusion of their win against Johnson & Wales.
Out the gate the game was highly competitive, with both teams staying within 2 points up until the score of 6-6. Suddenly, the Union Panthers began to pull away, outscoring Ferrum 7-3 over 10 serves to bring the score up to 13-9.
The Ferrum Panthers would go on to work toward a comeback by scoring four consecutive points, courtesy of a kill by junior Danielle Worthy and an ace from senior Kalee Bunn, placing the score at 13-13.
The set continued to remain a back and forth affair, and in the end Ferrum dropped the first set 26-24.
The next set would be taken by Virginia Union as well, however the Ferrum Panthers would come out of the corner throwing haymakers in the third, outscoring the Union Panthers 9-0, 3 of which were aces scored by junior Daniela Castillo.
Though Virginia Union began mounting a comeback, the original deficit was too great to conquer, leading the Ferrum Panthers to take the third set.
The fourth and final set saw Ferrum at one point being down 24-16. With the game on the line, Ferrum rallied to score 7 unanswered points, stemming in part from kills by Propst and Worthy. Despite the effort, Ferrum dropped the game against Virginia Union 25-23.
Ferrum’s third match of the season was against Warren Wilson University, where the Panthers would go on to sweep the Owls 3-0.
Notable performances in this game included a 5-kill, 1-assist performance from Bennette, and 4 service aces and 1 assist from Castillo. Sophomore Sarabeth Johnson dished out 4 kills in her first game of the season for the Panthers.
Ferrum would cap off the week with a home match against Southern Virginia University. The Panthers would drop the game, 3-0, only losing the second set by 2 points.
The Panther Volleyball team will be at home for their first Conference Carolina and Division 2 game today, Tues. Sep. 16, at 6:30 pm.
This will be a historic game for the college, as it will be the first time a Division 2 sport is played in the Swartz Gymnasium, facing off against Lees McRae College.
