Tennessee Wesleyan, Reinhardt Advance to AAC Volleyball Championship

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Fourth-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan (25-7) defeated eighth-seeded Johnson (TN) (16-17) in four sets and second-seeded Reinhardt (25-6) swept third-seeded Columbia International (20-13) in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament semifinals Saturday, Nov. 14, in Kingsport, Tenn. Tennessee Wesleyan advanced to the championship match for the first time in program history.

In the first semifinal, Tennessee Wesleyan won 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21 behind 11 service aces and nine team blocks. Johnson erased an 18-14 deficit in the opening set, tying it on an Ariah Gourley solo block, before Tennessee Wesleyan took seven of the final eight points. Brooklyn Mathis ended the set with an ace. Johnson then built a 13-8 second-set lead, but Tennessee Wesleyan answered with five consecutive points and later used a four-point run to move ahead 18-15. A Peyton Grabowski kill secured the two-set advantage.

Johnson extended the match by winning the final three points of the third set while Anna Birling served, overcoming a 23-22 deficit. Tennessee Wesleyan led 15-10 in the fourth before a four-point Johnson rally, including three consecutive Zowee Dillard kills, cut the margin to one. Nyah Hudson stopped that run with a kill. Johnson stayed within 23-21 on a Kierstin Bell kill, but Hunter Ford answered with a kill before a Johnson attack error ended the match. Tennessee Wesleyan produced 16 kills and hit .273 in the closing set.

Katie Pennington led Tennessee Wesleyan with 11 kills, while Savannah Jones added 10 kills and four blocks. Hudson finished with eight kills and five blocks. Alley Hibdon supplied 34 assists, five kills and three aces, and Gracelyn Jackson collected 27 digs. Dillard paced Johnson with 23 kills and 16 digs, Bell added 13 kills and Birling had 21 digs. Madison Dahl recorded 25 assists and Caelyn Marshall added 21. Johnson finished with 50 kills to Tennessee Wesleyan's 46 but committed 33 attack errors and allowed 11 aces.

Reinhardt followed with a 28-26, 25-22, 26-24 victory in the second semifinal. Columbia International led the opening set 14-8 and 21-18 before Reinhardt scored six straight points. Columbia International saved three consecutive set points and later tied the score at 25 and 26, but a Breah Watson kill and a combined block by Watson and Jenna Smith settled the set. Reinhardt built an 18-11 second-set lead, only for Columbia International to close within 19-18 and 23-22. Watson delivered another kill before a Columbia International attack error gave Reinhardt a 2-0 lead.

Columbia International recovered from an 8-4 deficit in the third set and earned two set points at 24-22 on a Mary Norwood kill. Zoe Van Waaijen and Juliette Baffico answered with kills, and two consecutive Columbia International attack errors completed Reinhardt's four-point closing run. Van Waaijen finished with 11 kills on .500 hitting, while Baffico contributed 11 kills, 17 digs and two aces. Watson added eight kills and six blocks. Zeynep Yildirim had 23 assists, and Halle Janik totaled 14 assists and 12 digs as Reinhardt hit .162 and held an 8-6 advantage in blocks.

Ashlee Gomes led Columbia International with 18 kills and 11 digs. Norwood and Zcearia James added 10 kills apiece, while Macy Brooks finished with 38 assists and 13 digs. Columbia International hit .112 with 28 attack errors. Reinhardt is seeking its first tournament title since the 2020 season. Tennessee Wesleyan and Reinhardt meet in the championship match at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14.