Patriots swept in Peach Belt volleyball opener

MONTEVALLO, AL - The Francis Marion University women's volleyball team opened its 2009 Peach Belt Conference schedule with a 3-0 road loss (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) to conference newcomer University of Montevallo, Sunday afternoon (Sept. 20).

The Patriots drop to 5-5 overall and will travel to Augusta State University on Tuesday evening for a 7 p.m. PBC match.

Four Patriots (Liz Drewry, Casey Whitehead, Amanda Mitchell, Ashlee Crook) recorded five kills apiece, with Hallie Legg and Jess O'Leary handed out 16 and 13 assists respectively.  Junior libero Kelsie Deaton led FMU with 11 digs,

Montevallo (10-6, 2-0 PBC) hit .337 as a team on Sunday.  Senior Katy Handrick led the way with 16 kills and a .419 attack percentage, while junior Rebecca Dowd had 11 kills and a .455 attack percentage.

The Falcons broke a 15-15 deadlock in game one with four straight points, and rallied from a 10-8 deficit in game two with seven consecutive points.  In the third set, Montevallo went up 13-4 before allowing the Patriots to claw their way back into the set. The Patriots got to within four points at 21-17 but that would be as close as they would come to taking a lead as the Falcons went on to win 25-19.