The Lady Bruins volleyball team came back from a 2-1 deficit as the team rallied to win the fourth and fifth set to capture a 3-2 victory over Toccoa Falls College in their first region game of the season. With this win, the Bruins improve to 4-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

"That was a big win for us against a very good NCCAA DII team," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "It was a fun volleyball match and a shame that one team had to lose. Our fans were great tonight and I was proud of our team for the way they played. "

The first set saw the Bruins race to an early 5-2 lead. A kill by Erin Jarvis and a block by Rachel Tubbs and Katherine Ring help power the Bruins to a 15-9 advantage. Soon after, Saleena Walker served up two straight aces against the Screaming Eagles as the Bruins closed in for the set win. After the timeout, the Eagles were able to take advantage of a couple miscommunications by the Bruins to cut the lead to six. However, Walker responded with her third ace of the set to keep the momentum on the Bruins side as they held on for a 25-16 win. 

In the second set, the Bruins opened with a powerful block by Katherine Ring which brought the crowd to its feet. After the Eagles took the lead, two consecutive kills by Brittany Annand ended the TFC run and the Bruins were able to tie the set again. The Bruins then went on a 3-0 run of their own thanks to two blocks by Katherine Ring and an illegal attack by the Eagles. The Eagles, now down 14-10, were forced to call a timeout. Following the timeout, the Eagles soared to a 5-0 run to retake the lead. A hit net and a double hit by the Eagles would give the Bruins the lead back. Annand and Ring made a pair of big kills and Walker was able to land her fourth ace of the game against the Eagles to make the Bruins' lead 20-17. The Eagles would storm back to tie the set at 20-20 and then again at 22-22 before a double hit on the Bruins handed the Eagles a 25-22 victory in the set tying the match at 1-1. 

The Eagles were able to capitalize on their victory in the 3^rd set as they quickly jumped to a 6-1 lead. The Bruins were forced to call a timeout after trailing 7-1. Rachel Tubbs was able to finally give the Bruins another point, but the team continued to struggle and the Eagles were able to reach an 8-3 lead. The Bruins were able to bounce back as Lauren Muckenschnabl got a block and a kill. Jarvis and Ring racked up kills of their own, and the Bruins cut the Eagles lead down to three. However, the Eagles would take their comfortable lead back a few plays later and never looked back as they held on for a 25-20 win to lead the match 2-1.

The Bruins now faced a crucial fourth set and showed adversity after clawing back from being down. Brittany Annand and Lauren Johnson both scored aces to give the Bruins an 8-5 lead. The Eagles called a timeout while down 9-5, but Rachel Tubbs responded with another kill and Johnson got her second ace of the set to extend the Bruins' run to 5-0 and their lead to 12-5. The Eagles answered the Bruins run by clawing their way back with a 7-0 run to tie the set. The two teams went down the stretch with several ties before the Bruins used great play to force a fifth set as they won 25-22.

"What I really like about our group is that they don't give up," Denny said. "We were down several times in the match and some teams would have just quit and our players didn't."

With the crowd behind them, the Bruins looked to close out the match. The Eagles came out and took a 3-1 lead early but a couple of big blocks by Brittany Annand and Laura Gaston kept the Bruins within reach. The two teams went back and forth before the score finally tied at 11-11. That's the last the Eagles would score as Lauren Johnson recorded three straight aces to help the Bruins take the set 15-11 and complete the comeback with a 3-2 win. 
 
Brittany Annand led the Bruins with 14 kills on the night while Lauren Johnson recorded seven aces in the match and Saleena Walker had five. Walker also had a strong game defensively with 37 digs. Next up, the Bruins will welcome Columbia College on Monday night.