Union, Bluefield Advance in Women's Volleyball Tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The 2025 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament got underway with a five-set thriller, followed by a sweep on Thursday.

The three-day tournament is being held at MeadowView Marriott Convention Center & Conference Resort in Kingsport, Tenn.

No. 7 seed Union Commonwealth and No. 9 seed Bluefield each won to solidify Friday's quarterfinal pairings.

Union rallied to defeat 10th-seeded Milligan in five sets. Union was down two sets to one and appeared to be on its way to forcing a fifth set rather quickly, as it was up 21-17. However, Milligan reeled off three straight points to cut the margin to one. Union, though, accounted for four of the final six points for the 25-22 to send the match to a decisive set. Milligan looked on its way to the win, racing to a 9-4 lead. Union roared back and tied the frame at 9-all before the teams went back-and-forth, trading points. Knotted at 14-all, Union picked up kills from Emily Shumaker and Sydney Worde to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.

Shumaker led Union with 21 points, while Sarah Charkosky had 33 assists. Shelby Miller showed out for Milligan, registering 33 kills.

In the other first-round match, Bluefield swept its way past No. 8 seed Spartanburg Methodist. After winning the opening set 25-21, Bluefield trailed 23-22 late in the second before a 3-0 Rams rally sealed the 25-23 set win for a 2-0 match lead. Bluefield then used that momentum to win the third set 25-16 to wrap up the sweep.

Eledy Torres served up a program-record eight aces to go along with 22 digs. Rachel Sasson helped out with 13 kills, while Ella Gawellek had 11. 

Player resumes on Friday with four quarterfinal matches. First serve is set for 11 am.

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

All matches will be streamed live and can be viewed for free by clicking here.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 13
Game 1 - No. 7 Union Commonwealth (12-18) def. No. 10 Milligan (8-26) - 3-2 (box)
Game 2 - No. 9 Bluefield (12-13) def. No. 8 Spartanburg Methodist (13-20) - 3-0 (box)

Friday, Nov. 14
Game 3 - No. 1 Columbia International (21-6) vs. No. 9 Bluefield (12-13) - 11 am
Game 4 - No. 2 Johnson (30-6) vs. No. 7 Union Commonwealth (12-18), 1:30 pm
Game 5 - No. 4 Pikeville (18-12) vs. No. 5 Brenau (15-12), 4 pm
Game 6 - No. 3 Reinhardt (27-6) vs. No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan (20-11) - 6:30 pm

Saturday, Nov. 15
Game 7 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner - 10 am
Game 8 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 12:30 pm
Game 9 - Championship Game - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner - 4:30 pm