DANVILLE, Ky. - The Birmingham-Southern volleyball team picked up where they left off in San Antonio with wins over Huntingdon and LaGrange on Thursday night. 

Game 1 vs. Otterbein

The Panthers got off to a great start by getting a 9-3 lead early. The Cardinals then went on to score nine unanswered points to take a 13-10 lead in set one. After close action, BSC trailed 21-18 late in the set. They then scored five-straight points to take a 23-21 lead. Despite being a point away from winning set one after an Emily Buhl kill, Otterbein held on and tied things up at 25. The Cardinals then went onto win set one 28-26.

In set two, Ainsley Schultz produced three consecutive service aces to give the Panthers an 8-5 lead. BSC did not look back in set two and never trailed. They had two strings of three and one of four to conserve their lead throughout the set. After being up 24-20, and Ainsley Schultz kill tied the match up at one a piece.

Set three saw BSC trail 9-7 early after an impressive second set. The Panthers couldn't cut the deficit to less than two and slowly started to see the set slip away. The Cardinals led by as much as eight and went on to win set three 25-19.

Down 2-1, BSC hoped to force a final set going into set four. However, Otterbein kept their foot on the gas and led 10-5 early. The Cardinals kept their impressive display going and led 21-16 before going on a 4-0 run to win set four 25-16 and ultimately win the match 3-1.
Records
Birmingham-Southern 3-5, Otterbein 4-5
 
Set Summary 
SET ONE: 28-26 Otterbein
SET TWO: 25-20 BSC
SET THREE: 25-19 Otterbein
SET FOUR: 25-16 Otterbein

Game 2 vs. Millikin    

After a tough opening match, the Panthers hoped to bounce back against the Big Blue. However, they found themselves down 7-1 early in the opening set. BSC trailed 18-8 later on in the set  and couldn't quite get things going. Millikin went on to take set one 25-17.

In the second set, the Panthers found themselves down 10-9. Then, they strung together four-straight points led by a Taylor Bentley kill to take a 13-10 lead. The set turned out to have lots of exciting play and both teams were tied at 20 late. BSC then went on a 5-0 run finished off by two Taylor Bentley kills to earn a 25-20 set two win.

Millikin regained their momentum from the opening set in set three. The Big Blue had a 13-5 lead early, and the Panthers could not make the deficit any smaller than six. Millikin went on to take a 2-1 lead in the match and win set three 25-16.

With their backs against the wall, BSC tried to keep the match going into a fifth set. After trading strings of points, the score was tied at 13 roughly midway through set four. The Big Blue then went on a 7-1 lead to take control of the set. The Panthers were not able to cut into the Big Blue lead and went on to lose the set 25-17.

Records
Birmingham-Southern 3-6, Millikin 5-3
 
Set Summary 
SET ONE: 25-17 Millikin
SET TWO: 25-20 BSC
SET THREE: 25-16 Millikin
SET FOUR: 25-17 Millikin

Up next
The Panthers will be back at it tomorrow, Sept. 16 for day two of the Colonel Invitational at 11:00 a.m. EST vs. Wittenberg and 1:30 EST against Denison.