Written by: Danny Talbert
Despite falling behind 2-1 in the match, the Panthers showed unwavering resilience by winning two sets in a row, securing their first victory of the season.
In the first set, it was a competitive first five points for each team, but the Panthers slowly and steadily pulled away from Wesleyan. The Wolves had no answers for LC after we went on a 7-2 point run, going up 16-8. Following a smart time-out by Wesleyan, they were able to claw their way back to trail 21-18. The Panthers then took a time-out of their own to slow the comeback. LC went on to trade point for point with the Wolves until we were able to secure the 25-22 victory.
The second set picked up from where the first one left off with each team fighting hard to score a point. After going down 12-5, the Panthers took a time-out to slow down the 6-1 Wolf run but ended up dropping the set 25-13.
The Panthers continued to fight hard in the third set as the fans in Richter Gym cheered enthusiastically for each point and chanted, "Let's go Panthers." LC could not keep up and fell 25-17.
Although they were down 2-1, the Panthers showed no quit coming into the fourth set. With an incredible effort, LC kept it neck and neck throughout and the fans who came out absolutely loved it. At 14 a piece, the Panthers began a 4-1 run to force a Wolves time-out. It was not enough to stop LC from winning the set 25-19, tying the match at 2-2.
The team began the fifth set off with a quick 5-0 lead, forcing Wesleyan to call a time-out in hopes of changing the tides. No break could stop the relentless Panthers offense from going on to win the final set 15-7.
Not only did we get the first win of the season, but following her exceptional performances over the past weekend games, sophomore Meredith Orton was nominated for volleyball player of the week for the Collegiate Conference of the South. She is the first LC student-athlete of the 2023 season to be included on this list.
The Panthers travel on Sept. 7 to play Birmingham-Southern. The tip is 8:30 p.m. and to watch the match click here.
