Volleyball sets sights on AAC tournament
WEST POINT, Ga. (Nov. 9, 2021) – The Point University volleyball team is no stranger to the unpredictability that the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament can hold. Last season, the Skyhawks entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and defeated the AAC regular-season champions, Bryan, to advance to the tournament's semifinal round. This season, the Skyhawks enter as the No. 7 seed, and their goal remains the same as years prior, to win the AAC tournament and advance to the NAIA National Championship.
Regular-season overview
Point enters postseason play 13-15 and with a conference record of 10-10. The Skyhawks opened AAC play this season by defeating in-state rival Reinhardt in five sets. Point defeated St. Andrews in a five-set thriller on Sept. 28 and Milligan on Oct. 30. Point had seven sweeps on the season, with five being in conference play.
This season, the Skyhawks have been led by seniors Te'a Owens and Kaitlyn Hawke. Both Skyhawks reached career milestones in October, as Owens recorded her 1,000th career dig in Point's victory over Johnson (Tenn.) on Oct. 15, and Hawke recorded her 1,000th career assist on Oct. 20.
Owens leads Point with 307 kills and 312 digs. She is responsible for 348.5 of Point's 1,406.5 points on the season. Also, in defensive efforts, Owens has 29 blocks on the season.
Hawke leads the team with 528 assists and 39 service aces. In defensive efforts, Hawke has 263 digs.
Senior, Sarah Baucham, leads the team with a .259 kill percentage and 71 blocks. She is second on the team in kills with 197. Senior Mollie Goen follows closely behind with 69 blocks and 141 kills.
Junior Whitney Ward is second on the team in digs with 297 and service aces with 33. She is third with 154 kills.
Abby Solomon has helped anchor Point's offense with 277 assists and Audrey Blaschke and Madison Bentley have helped in defensive efforts with 240 and 219 digs, respectively.
AAC tournament field
Ten teams advanced to the AAC tournament held in Kingsport, Tenn., at the Meadowview Conference Resort & Convention Center. Seeds 7-10 will face off on Wednesday in the opening round, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinal round to face the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
Point will face No. 10 Montreat on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 12 p.m., with the winner advancing to play No. 2 CIU in the quarterfinal match on Thursday, Nov. 11. The winner of Thursday's match will go on to the semifinal match Friday, which is set to be played at 10 a.m., with the championship game scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m.
This season, Point fell to Montreat in its only meeting of the season, 3-1. This was the Cavaliers' first win over the Skyhawks since 2016.
Bryan and CIU finished as regular-season co-champions, but Bryan earned the No. 1 seed because the Lions defeated the Rams during the regular season. Following CIU are Reinhardt at No. 3, Bluefield at No. 4, Brenau at No. 5, and Union at No. 6.
St. Andrews and Milligan advanced to the tournament as the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, respectively.
Tournament details
Fans are allowed to attend the tournament, and tickets can be purchased by clicking here. The tournament will also be live-streamed.