FMU drops heartbreaker at PBC Volleyball Tournament

SAVANNAH, GA – Despite a career-high 22 kills from freshman hitter Riley Forester, seventh-seeded Francis Marion University came up just short in its upset bid as the Patriots fell in five sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10) to second-seeded University of Montevallo, Friday afternoon (Nov. 12) in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament.

Francis Marion concludes its season with a 15-16 mark.  The Falcons (23-11) move on to Saturday’s semifinals.  Montevallo had swept FMU in three sets during both regular-season meetings.

Junior Ashlee Crook followed Forester with 11 kills, while senior libero Kelsie Deaton dug up a team-high 23 balls, her 31st career match of 20-plus digs.  Freshman setter Nicole Bennett returned from an ankle injury that forced her to miss the last four matches and she handed out 23 assists and registered 12 digs. Sophomore Liz Drewry added 18 assists, 12 digs, and two service aces.

“We came in with a strong game plan and the ladies followed it and that gave us a chance to win,” said FMU head coach Paul MacDonald.  “I am proud of our finish, and this result shows how we have improved through the year and also how balanced our conference is.

“Kelsie and Mallory (Eggert) both played well in their final match as seniors.  With 23 digs, Kelsie showed why she is one of the conference’s best liberos, and Mallory served well, played good defense with her blocking (6 blocks), and also came up with some key digs (9) along the back row.  These two will be impossible to replace.  They have been four-year starters who have made huge contributions to our program over the past four seasons.”

Kills by Bennett, Forester, and Drewry allowed Francis Marion to break a 22-22 deadlock in set two and claim the 25-23 win.  After dropping the third set 25-21, FMU fell behind 15-9 in set four.  However, the Patriots rallied behind seven kills from Forester to outscore the Falcons 16-7 and earn a 25-22 victory that forced a fifth set.

Midway through the deciding set, FMU trailed only 8-7.  Montevallo then ran off five straight points en route to the 15-10 win.

Taylor Chapman led Montevallo with 23 kills and 10 digs, while Rebecca Dowd had 12 kills and 17 digs.

Deaton finished her career with 1,886 digs, second-best in FMU history and fourth on the all-time Peach Belt Conference list.  Eggert concludes her career with 418 blocks, ninth-best on the PBC career list.