JACKSON -- In front of a rambunctious crowd at The Hangar Dome on Friday evening, the Millsaps volleyball team got its first win of the 2009 season by defeating cross-street rival Belhaven College in four sets, 3-1 (25-19, 28-26, 28-30, 25-12).

The Majors were led on the attack by junior \#Kate Hall\#, who finished with 13 kills and defensively by senior \#Dixie Krauss\# and junior \#Erica Cook\#, who ended with 20 and 19 digs, respectively.

Despite being a home match for Millsaps, the Belhaven fans came in droves and raised the intensity for the final match of the night at the Third Annual Millsaps Invitational.  The Majors were up to the task and jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, following a block and kill from sophomore \#Maggie Tumminello\#.

Millsaps was able to maintain a slight lead throughout the first set, thanks in part to consistent blocking, but after a few defensive lapses and service errors, the Blazers tied the match at 16-16.  Sophomore \#Kasey Laird\# gave the Majors the lead again with back-to-back service aces.

With the first set within reach, Hall had two kills to give Millsaps a 22-17 lead. Cook then closed out the first set with excellent serving to give the Majors a 25-19 victory and 1-0 lead in the match.

To open the second set, both teams traded points until Millsaps freshman \#Raven Scott\# entered the match and made an immediate impact with a kill and a block to give the Majors an 8-5 lead.  Belhaven rallied to take a four point lead, but Laird tied the set at 13-13 with strong serving.

The momentum continued to swing back and forth until the Majors scored four unanswered points behind blocks from freshman \#Sarah Zito\# and sophomore \#Heather Keenan\# for a 17-16 lead.  After falling behind 22-24, Hall came up with two critical kills to tie it and keep the Majors in the set.

The Blazers forced Millsaps to fight off four sets points before the Majors got the chance with a set point of their own, which they were able to convert for the two set advantage with the 28-26 win.

The third set continued to be hotly contested with each team making rallies, but neither team was able to sustain the lead.  Belhaven continued to look to close out the set to keep the match alive and needed five set points until they were finally able to capitalize for the 30-28 win.

Right from the start of the fourth set, Millsaps set the tempo and went for the victory by jumping out to a 10-5 lead behind several kills from Scott, who finished with nine kills. Cook, unrelenting in her serving, increased the Majors' lead to nine points and the Millsaps hitters steadily put the ball away and closed out the match with a 25-12 victory in the fourth set.

The Majors (1-1) look to keep up their winning ways tomorrow when they take on Union University (Tenn.) at 12:00 p.m. and Loyola at 2 p.m.