Panthers' comeback against Huntingdon falls short
Oct. 11, 2006

LaGrange College's rally came up short as the Panthers fell 3-2 to Huntingdon College in a GSAC match at the CEB Gym on Wednesday. The Panthers dropped the first two games before forcing the deciding fifth game. The loss left the Panthers 7-12 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Huntingdon, in avenging an earlier loss to the Panthers, is 10-9 and 5-2 in conference play.

Junior middle hitter Kiley Kirkpatrick had a career-high 18 kills for the Panthers. Huntingdon's Jamie Edwards had a game-high 19 kills.

Niki Metcalf, Megan Moore and Kayla Black all had double-doubles. Metcalf followed Kirkpatrick with 15 kills and 18 digs. Moore had a team-high 21 assists and 16 digs. Black had 20 assists and 15 digs. Grace Burgess led the Panthers with 20 digs.

Trailing 2-0, the Panthers rallied in the third game to stay alive. The two teams battled on even terms for most of the game. Trailing 23-21, the Panthers reeled off six straight points to go up 27-23. Kirkpatrick helped the Panthers take the game by scoring three of the final four Panther points on kills in the 30-27 win.

The Panthers staged a late rally to tie the match with a 31-29 win in the fourth game. Trailing 27-21, the Panthers reeled off five points in a row to get within one. The Lady Hawks though took a 29-27 lead and were serving for the match. But Metcalf got a kill and then combined with Kirkpatrick on a block to tie the game at 29. Moore got a service ace and Metcalf put down another kill for a 31-29 win.

In the deciding fifth game, Emma Butler's kill put the Lady Hawks ahead to stay, 7-6. The Panthers got within one the rest of the way as the Lady Hawks went on to a 15-10 win to take the match.

The Lady Hawks seemed in control after taking the first two games.

Huntingdon spotted the Panthers an early lead in the first game. The Panthers led 11-4 before the Lady Hawks stormed back. The Lady Hawks went on a 12-2 run to go up 16-13 and forcing a time out by the Panthers. The Panthers staged their own rally, coming back to lead 25-23 after an service error by the Lady Hawks. But Huntingdon scored the next five points to take the lead for good, eventually winning 30-26.

The Panthers could not get anything going in the second game. The Panthers led briefly early, but Huntingdon went ahead for good, 4-3. The Panthers got within four, 20-16, after a kill by Metcalf. Huntingdon closed out the game with a 10-2 run for a 30-18 win.

The Panthers host Spelman in a GSAC match on Wednesday, Oct. 18 beginning at 7 p.m.