Dalton Christopher
Assistant Athletic Director - Communications & Media
dchristopher@transy.edu

ATLANTA, GA - Transylvania's furious comeback in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament fell short in a five set loss to Claremont-Mudds-Scripps, 3-2. 

After a tough opening set that saw Claremont open with an 11-0 start, Transylvania rallied to win a thriller in the second set. Kills from Grace Ward, Isabella Myers and Cate Scheper started the Pioneer offense, tying Claremont-M-S 5-5. After falling into a four point deficit, the Pioneers rallied to cut the lead to one with a sequence featuring a kill from Cecilia Roberts and an ace from Grace Ward. Addie Atcher's kill and another from Myers helped Transy take an 18-17 lead. The final exchange of the second set saw an all around effort from the Pioneers, Scheper scored two consecutive kills to tie 23-23. Moments later she would record another kill to take a 25-24 lead. Claremont-M-S would tie things up at 25-25 with a kill from Georgia McGovern, but Scheper would respond with yet another kill to take a 26-25 lead. Cecilia Roberts would score the deciding point in the set to tie Claremont-M-S at 1-1. 

In the third set Transylvania opened with a strong start, leading 7-3. In a strong run of scoring for the Pioneers, Scheper would record four kills, with two from Atcher and one from Ward, to extend their advantage to 15-9. As Claremont-M-S rallied to a 15-16 deficit, Scheper, Myers and Atcher would extend the Pioneer lead to 20-15. Claremont-M-S would not go away, scoring a 6-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. In a competitive exchange that saw set three go into extra points, Myers would score a kill to take a 24-22 advantage. Kayden Holcomb's kill would give the Pioneers a 25-24 lead, but it would be two consecutive kills from Scheper to seal the set for Transy, 28-26.

Claremont-M-S would open set four on a 7-1 run but the Pioneers would rally to a 16-12 deficit. Myers and Roberts would block an attack to cut the lead to 20-24, but Claremont would win set four 25-20. In the final set both teams would exchange brief runs, struggling to build consecutive scoring serves. Transy opened with a 3-1 lead, but after a competitive back and forth series of serves, they would take a 7-6 lead. Kills from Atcher and Holcomb regained the Pioneer advantage as the two teams switched sides at the halfway point of the deciding set, with Holcomb scoring a kill to tie the score at 10-10 a few serves later. After a 3-0 run from Claremont to take a 14-11 lead, Scheper and Myers would score consecutive kills to cut the lead to 13-14, but a kill from Brooke McKee would end the rally, securing a win for Claremont-M-S 3-2. 

2024 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year Grace Ward would record 57 assists and 19 digs. Scheper and Myers each added 20 kills, Holcomb and Atcher each added eleven. Ava Beltsos recorded 23 digs while Mason Morrow and Maggie Harrison each added 12. 

"With the 2024 season ending, I want to take a moment to thank our seniors and fifth years," said Head Coach Amy Barmore. "The seniors had an amazing career, they were 42-3 in the conference, four conference titles and an overall record of 100-34. They have an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen, not many people can say this, but the type of people they are is the most important, and I thank them for that. Last night just didn't go our way. We didn't start the way that we wanted to but we bounced back in the second and third and just couldn't finish, but we battled. We battled until the end. I couldn't be more proud of them and how they work together. This team is special, this program is special, and that will never change. 

The Pioneers end the 2024 campaign with a record of 22-8 and an undefeated conference record of 9-0. They claim their sixth consecutive HCAC Championship and their fifth regular season HCAC title, as well as their sixth consecutive NCAA National Tournament appearance. 

Transylvania University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the HCAC. To keep up to date with all of Transylvania Athletics, check out our website at www.transysports.com and follow @TransySports on Instagram.