Mount Berry, GA - The St. Thomas University (2-9, 0-1 in The Sun Conference) volleyball team traveled to the Berry College Tournament and won their first two matches of the season against Shorter and Milligan Colleges. Adriana Montilla led the team and was named to the all-tournament team she had 53 kills in four matches.
The Bobcats began the tournament with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) loss to Birmingham Southern College. Montilla led the team in kills with 10 and Nicole Molander-Barraza recorded nine. Julianne Rivera led the defense with 14 digs.
The second match of the tournament for the Bobcats put them up against the University of Mobile. The Bobcats played hard and had a shot to win every game at the end yet were unable to get the win, loosing 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 27-25). The Bobcat attack was led by Molander-Barraza, she put together a performance her coach Mauricio Diaz described as unstoppable. She ended the match with 18 kills. Montilla put together another strong performance for the Bobcats scoring 16 kills and hustling to 10 digs during the match. Several of the kills recorded by Molander-Barraza and Montilla were set up by Fernanda Neves, she ended the match with a team high 40 assists.
The Bobcats were a few plays away from winning their first match of the season against the Univeristy of Mobile. With those plays in mind the Bobcats began their third match against Shorter College focused and won their first match of the season 3-1 (17-25, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25). Montilla was playing the entire floor recording kills and making digs all over the place. She ended the match with 18 kills and 7 digs. Molander-Barraza supplied excellent support, she had 17 kills of her own which she accomplished with an accurate .406 hitting percentage. The defense was led by Rivera, she made 17 digs and confused the Shorter College defense on her two service aces.
The confidence created from the near victory against Mobile and the impressive win against Shorter was on display by the Bobcats early against Milligan College as Daniela Orlandini set the tone with the first kill of the match. She ended the match with 11 total kills and five digs. Karla Vargas also put together an impressive performance for the Bobcats, she had eight kills and three digs. The benefits of the new players were on display against Milligan College as the Bobcats recorded more blocks than their opponent for the first time this season. The strong play at the net was led by Linares she had four of the team's six blocks. The Bobcats defeated Milligan College 3-0 (21-25, 25-27, 19-25). The Bobcats will play again at home against Northwood University at Barbara Goleman High School at 7 PM.
