DANVILLE, Ky. – The Millsaps volleyball team entered the 2024 Southern Athletic Association Championship as the No. 3 seed, but were bested in four close sets inside Alumni Gymnasium on Friday. No. 6 seed Hendrix advanced past the First Round by downing the Majors (18-25, 25-13, 23-25, 20-25) on the campus of Centre College.

Senior and All-SAA First Team member Anna Capezzera almost reached a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs. She added two aces and a block solo.

Fellow All-SAA First Team standout and junior Ally Baer finished with eight kills, four digs, an ace, an assist and a block. Classmate Trista Naquin furnished nine kills and one dig, while freshman Abigail Drury added a career-best 26 digs to go along with four assists and an ace.

All-SAA Second Team senior setter Zoe Elder recorded her 17th double-double of the season with 33 assists, 10 digs and three blocks, while tying a career-high two solos.

Sophomore libero and All-SAA Second Team student-athlete Sandy Bourgeois garnered 27 digs as well.

Capezzera began the match scoring after a long rally to open the first set. The match would then be tied at 4-4, 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 before a Warrior kill gave Hendrix its first lead at 9-8.

The Warriors then held narrow one- and two-point leads up through 15-13 when Hendrix's advantage grew to three points, forcing a Millsaps timeout. Hendrix, however, extended its margin to 19-13, following a 5-0 run.

Baer provided a kill in response, but the Warriors kept up the early pressure with the next three points, leading to another Major timeout. Richardson and Capezzera found back-to-back kills after resetting strategy.

The teams then traded points in the final stages of the opening set, pushing Hendrix to a 25-18 decision and 1-0 match advantage.

After Hendrix started the second set with a point, Elder provided a block solo and Capezzera sent down two kills to give Millsaps an early 3-2 edge.

Capezzera continued her early energy by earning another kill and utilized an ace to make it 5-4. After Hendrix knotted up the match at 5-5, Millsaps strung together a 5-1 surge and forced a Warrior timeout.

Elder continued the run out of the break with a nifty kill with a fake set attack. The Warriors scored the next point, but Millsaps scored the next four points for a 15-7 lead.

Hendrix was forced to use its final timeout of the set after a pair of errors made it 18-10 in favor of the Majors. The teams eventually traded points with Millsaps still out front, 20-13.

A trio of Warrior errors was then followed by a Drury service ace and Baer kill to close out the set at 25-13, tying the match at 1-1.

The momentum swung back in Hendrix's direction as it opened the third set ahead, 5-1. Millsaps collected itself with a timeout and closed the margin to 6-5 after back-to-back Naquin kills. A Warrior attack error then tied the set early at 6-6.

With the match square at 7-7, Hendrix used a 4-0 run to make Millsaps call a timeout. The timeout was well timed as a Stephens kill, a Baer and Elder block and pair of Warrior errors tied the set again at 11-11.

The seesaw matchup continued as Hendrix then followed with a 4-0 burst to pull forward, 15-11. Again Millsaps willed its way back thanks to an Elder kill and Hendrix errors, making it a 16-14 deficit.

Stephens made her voice known was emphatic kills at 18-16 and 19-17, forcing a Warrior stoppage with the No. 6 seed still slightly ahead. Hendrix again used a timeout after Baer found the back line and a Warrior attack error made it a 20-19 contest, favoring Hendrix.

An Elder kill then made the match level before a Richardson kill and junior Olivia Danos service ace gave Millsaps a 22-21 advantage. However, Hendrix found a final surge and closed out the third set with a 4-1 run to claim a 25-23 decision, securing a 2-1 match margin.

The Warriors raced out front, 5-2 prompting a Millsaps timeout to start the fourth set. A 6-2 Hendrix run grew the lead more before Naquin and Bear kills made it an 11-6 deficit.

Down 13-7, Millsaps responded cutting the margin down to 15-14 with a 7-2 run, which was punctuated by a Capezzera block solo. A Naquin kill and Capezzera ace forced a 16-16 tie score soon after.

Teams traded points once more until Hendrix held a 20-18 margin late in the fourth set. After another Warrior point, Millsaps called time. Hendrix continued to close tough and scored three more times to make it 24-18.

A Richardson kill and Warrior set error pulled Millsaps behind, 24-20. However, Hendrix used one final kill to end the set and the match at 25-20.

Despite the defeat the Majors finish with the most wins (22) since the 2012 season and also earned the most conference victories (eight) since 2014.

Millsaps also tied its program-best of four All-SAA honorees, which was announced earlier in the week. The Majors secured a pair of All-SAA First Team honorees for the first time since 2012 as well. It was also the first time ever the Majors swept SAA Offensive and Defensive weekly recognition in a single week.


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Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.