MARYVILLE, TENN. – Whitney DeMoss drove home a match-high 14 kills and was one of four Brevard hitters with double figure kills as the Tornados downed LaGrange by scores of 25-17, 24-26, 25-18 and 25-13 on Saturday afternoon.
DeMoss was joined on offense by the trio of Hannah Elmore (12 kills), Rachel Ruble (12) and Stephanie Lambert (11) as Brevard finished with a .232 hitting percentage. Senior Josie McElroy had the offense rolling as she contributed 48 assists and three service aces.
Brevard's defense was also key in the win, limiting the Panthers to a .039 hitting percentage, behind the back row contributions of Maggie Weiss (28 digs) and Bri Vargas (15). Meanwhile, the front row tandem of Ruble and Elmore tallied three assisted blocks.
With the opportunity to close out their 11th victory of the season the Tornados capitalized on two kills each from Ruble and Lambert as they established a 15-9 advantage.
The Panthers attempted to halt Brevard's offense with a timeout, but it was unsuccessful as Elmore and DeMoss converted three kills in the final eight points to complete the 12-point victory.
The back-and-forth battled waged on in third set as the two units endured seven ties to reach a 13-13 deadlock. Lambert drove a kill past the Panther defense to give Brevard a slim one-point lead and following two kills by Elmore and one from DeMoss the Tornados owned a 20-16 lead.
A late Panther timeout briefly halted the Brevard run, but two attack errors down the stretch coupled with kills by Ruble and DeMoss proved to be the difference for the Tornados.
Five kills allowed LaGrange to jump out to a 16-11 lead in the opening stages of the second set. However, the Tornados stormed back behind the service game of Kathryn Beasley, scoring 12 of the next 16 points to move in front 23-19 on an error by Anna Jones.
LaGrange regained its previous form and regained the lead 24-23 on a block by Jazzlyn Kenner, forcing a Tornado timeout. The Panthers added a kill from Emily Arnold and took advantage of an unforced error to post the two-point victory.
The two teams endured six ties in the first 20 points before reaching a 10-all deadlock on a service error by LaGrange's Samanta James. The Panthers rebounded to score the next two points, but a 6-2 Brevard run that was highlighted by two Elmore kills forced a LaGrange timeout with the Tornados leading 16-14.
LaGrange pulled within one out of the breather, before three kills from Lambert stretched the Brevard advantage to 20-15. The Tornados allowed just one point down the stretch and took advantage of slams by DeMoss and Lambert to complete the eight-point win.
BREVARD 3, MARYVILLE 1
Hannah Elmore was the focal point of the Brevard offense, tallying 28 kills to lead the way for a Tornado unit that earned a 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 victory over Maryville. Elmore reached 20 kills for the second time this season, topping her previous season-high 22 which came against Piedmont (Oct. 10).
Elmore, who posted a .500 attack percentage after limiting herself to four errors in 48 attempts, was joined by Whitney DeMoss (13 kills) among the offensive leaders. They were integral in helping the Tornados (12-6) finish with a .297 attack percentage as the team finished with 59 kills on 145 attacks.
Josie McElroy (49 assists) and Maggie Weiss (15 assists) also reached double figures for the Tornados, while Rachel Ruble added five assisted blocks and two solo blocks to lead the front row defense.
The service game of Lambert along with five kills off the hand of Elmore allowed Brevard to grab an 8-4 lead in the fourth set. Two points later, Weiss stepped into serve for the Tornados and methodically picked apart the Maryville defense with two service aces to stretch the advantage to seven.
The Scots got into rhythm with MacKenzie Marcrum in serve, scoring nine of the next 14 points to make for an 18-17 Brevard lead. Elmore emerged with home three kills in the next four Brevard points to provide a 21-18 advantage. That sparked the play of Ruble and DeMoss, who tallied three of the final five Tornado points, as Brevard completed the six-point win.
Momentum established in the second frame carried over into the third as Brevard grabbed a 14-11 lead following a kill from Elmore. The Scots committed an unforced error and McElroy notched a service ace as the lead reached six.
Maryville used four kills in the next 10 points to pull within two, 21-19, forcing a Tornado timeout. Elmore came out of the breather and recorded three kills as Brevard earned the victory.
Brevard came out strong in the second set, using back-to-back service aces by Kasey West to make for a six-all tie. The Scots recorded six of the next nine points before a two kills and a block from Elmore knotted the contest at 16.
The combination of McElroy in serve and Ruble in net helped Brevard score the next six straight points. Maryville answered with a brief three-point run, but it was two kills from DeMoss down the stretch that tied the contest at one set each.
After evenly splitting the first four points of the opening set, Maryville took advantage of a service ace from Brianne Sidner and a kill from Lauren Espinal to assume a lead it would not relinquish. The Scots lead by as many as six, but Brevard rallied used kills from Lambert, DeMoss and Bri Vargas to pull within one, 16-15.
Maryville got back into its flow, stretching the margin to 20-17 on a Sidner kill, as it went on to capture the opening set by two on a slam from Rhianna Tyldesley.
Brevard returns to action on Tuesday when it heads to Agnes Scott for a 6 p.m. clash with the Scotties.