JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps volleyball team dispatched their cross-street rivals Belhaven, 3-0 before falling by the same score to Centenary College in the Millsaps Invitational.

Match 1: Millsaps 3, Belhaven 0
(25-16, 25-18, 25-13)

The Majors dominated the opening match of the day with a three-set triumph over rival Belhaven. Graduate Alyssa Jolly recorded a match-high 11 kills, six blocks and added four digs.

Senior Hannah Mattke posted a match-best 12 digs, while sophomore Zoe Elder finished with 27 assists. Freshman Mallory Richardson was strong offensively as well tallying eight kills.

Millsaps came out on fire in the first set, leading by nine points on five occasions. The first instance came at 18-9 and again at 19-10 when Jolly provided a smashing hit. The final nine-point advantage was grabbed by Richardson with a crafty service ace to end the set.

The Majors continued their momentum in the second set with 4-0 and 10-3 leads early. Freshman Colby Mayeux gave Millsaps the 10th point with a kill. A Blazer attack error made the game 15-4, giving the Majors their largest lead of the match.
 
Belhaven would pull within six at a 22-16 deficit, but three more Major points punctuated by a Jolly kill would end the set at 25-18.

The Majors again cruised out early with an 11-3 edge following an Anna Capezzera kill in the third set. Millsaps would then push their lead up to 19-10 when Trista Naquin found the floor. With the Majors in control, a pair of Blazer errors ended the match with a convincing sweep.


Match 2: Centenary 3, Millsaps 0
(22-25, 20-25, 28-30)
 
Millsaps battled in three very competitive sets in the second match of the day, but came up just to Centenary College. Capezzera finished with an impressive 10 kills and a .318 hitting percentage, while Elder recorded 26 assists.

Centenary posted a lead as large as 13-9 in the opening set, but Millsaps quickly responded with a 3-0 run sparked by a Capezzera slam. The Ladies again grew their edge to five points at 18-13, but Millsaps responded with a flurry to pull within 23-22. However, a Centenary kill and service ace closed the first set.
 
The Ladies launched out of the gates in the second with a 6-0 advantage. Millsaps quickly fought back to make it 9-8 in favor of the visitors. Centenary then led 17-15, but a 4-0 burst gave the visitors the momentum to claim set two as well.

Set three was a close as it could get with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage. Fast forward to the Majors holding a 23-21 margin and the Ladies managed to tie it up.

A Reed kill would then give Millsaps set point. The Ladies tied it up and took the lead at 25-24. Reed would then knot up the match, Centenary would reclaim the lead. Jolly would provide back-to-back kills to give Millsaps its last edge at 27-26.
 
Capazerra would stave off another match point with a kill at 28-28, but an attack error and Centenary kill would give them the victory.
 
The Millsaps volleyball team returns for Day Two of the Millsaps Invitational on Saturday. They will face Concordia Texas at 11 a.m. and Dallas at 3 p.m. Live stats will be available for Millsaps matches and video will be available of all four matches.
 

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps volleyball program follow the Majors on Twitter and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.