With the win, the Pirates (22-12) advance to their third straight PBC Tournament final and 11th final total, while Montevallo (23-12) now will have to await word of a possible NCAA at-large tournament berth, to be announced on Sunday evening.
Armstrong opened up the contest hitting very well in a relatively easy first-set win, claiming 13 kills and just one error in 28 attacks for a .429 hitting percentage. After a second-set win, however, Montevallo climbed back into the match as the Falcons scored the first eight points of the third set - seven on setter Anna Garrison's (LaVergne, Tenn./LaVergne) serve - and held on for the four-point third set win.
The Pirates were two points away from claiming the match in the fourth set as a Gwen Clarke kill put Armstrong up, 23-22, but Montevallo pushed it to a fifth set on a kill by Virginia Clay (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) and a solo block by PBC Freshman of the Year Manyi Ati (Lawrenceville, Ga./Grayson).
The fifth set stayed even until a solo block by Amanda Jones gave the Pirates a two-point lead, 11-9. Back-to-back kills by Jones and Jessica Santaniello earned the Pirates four match points, leading 14-10, and finally Jones ended the match with a kill at 15-12 to send the Pirates to the championship match.
Jones led all players with a .480 hitting percentage on the evening, collecting 14 kills to go with seven blocks. Torrie Bevolo added 14 kills and 16 digs, while Gwen Clarke notched 12 kills and Jessica Santaniello added 10. Brittany Wolf notched a tournament-high nine blocks in the match and Megan Pando delivered 52 assists. Casey Howett led all players defensively with 23 digs.
Montevallo, like Armstrong, placed four players in double digit kills, led by Taylor Chapman's (Killen, Ala./Lexington) 15 kills. Ati finished the match with 14 kills and six blocks, while Clay and Rebecca Dowd (Dothan, Ala./Providence Christian School) each notched 12 kills. Garrison tallied 54 assists and Chapman led defensively with 18 digs.
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