Pirates Hand Montevallo First PBC Volleyball Loss In Five

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Armstrong Atlantic State volleyball squad rallied from a two sets to one deficit and a 9-6 deficit in set five to pick up a 25-16, 17-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting Montevallo on Friday evening, handing the Falcons their first conference loss of the season.

The Pirates (9-4, 2-1 PBC) hit .241 in the match, buoyed by an impressive .450 in taking the first set from the Falcons (10-7, 2-1 PBC), but Montevallo rebounded by hitting .280 in set two and taking the third set behind the stellar play of Carson Anderson, who recorded a match-high 15 kills for the Falcons and hit .429.

AASU hit .310 in set four, but found themselves in an early 5-1 hole in set five. The Pirates tied things up at 6-6, but three straight Montevallo points put the Pirates in jeopardy. Back-to-back kills by Torrie Bevolo evened the match at 10-10, then at 13-13, Michele Remlinger and Leia Pittman picked up a block on Katy Handrick to give AASU match point. Amy Birkemeier's 15th kill of the night completed the comeback and gave the Pirates the win.

Birkemeier led a trio of Pirates in kills on the night as Kathrin Standhardinger added 10 kills and hit .333, while Michele Remlinger notched 10 kills to go with four blocks. Freshman Amanda Jones came into the match in the third game and ended up hitting .462 with seven kills and just one error in 13 attempts. Kristin Standhardinger notched 50 assists and 15 digs, while Casey Howett led the Pirates with 17 digs.

Montevallo also placed three players in double digit kills with Katie Johnson notching 13 kills and Handrick collecting 11 to go with Anderson's 15. Anna Garrison tallied 43 assists and 12 digs, while Brittany Wilson led all players with 18 digs.

The Pirates return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches, beginning with a 1:00 p.m. Peach Belt Conference match against Augusta State, followed by a 3:00 p.m. match against West Georgia.