MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Berry volleyball came up with a signature five-set win over Southwestern on the Vikings' senior day, where they honored Cadence Maxfield, Lura Underwood, Kat Kelyman, Kara Schmit, and practice player Zion Rome.

In their first five-set contest since September 6th, the Vikings utilized a monster performance from Madie Whitehead, who drove in a career-high 24 kills on a .340 hitting percentage. Lura Underwood added 17 kills while Keira Kruk pitched in 15, thanks to a career-high 57 assists from Ava Brovet. Cali Armstead also joined the scoring with some timely and net-rattling kills in the fourth and fifth sets. 

To begin the game, senior Kara Schmit sent through an ace to get things started for the Vikings. Back-to-back-to back kills from Keira Kruk awarded the Vikings an early 6-1 lead. Not blinking, the Pirates slowly crept back into the game, tying the game at 11. Shortly after the tie, the Vikings sailed back out to a 16-13 lead behind swings from Whitehead, Underwood, and Barnes that rebuilt the three-point advantage.  

Smelling Pirate blood in the water, the Vikings unleashed a 4-0 run to take a 20-14 lead. Despite another comeback effort, the Vikings closed the set with a 25-22 victory with Keira Kruk ending the first set with a kill.

That was just the beginning of the fireworks though, as the Pirates fought back to outplay the Vikings in sets two and three and they enjoyed a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth. 

With their backs now against the wall, the fire in the eyes of the Vikings began to spark again. Cali Armstead inserted herself into the ball game with a huge kill down the middle of the Pirate defense. Berry then enjoyed three straight errors from the Pirates that gave them an early 4-0 lead. The Vikings kept the Pirates at bay, leading throughout the set with Whitehead and Underwood leading the way as they stole a 25-21 set four victory to push the game to five. 

With the Cage Center erupting, Berry's attack followed suit. Despite giving up the first point of the set, Berry's mission remained locked and loaded, as they scored four straight points to take a 4-1 lead. With a 7-5 advantage midway through the final set, sound rotations and the strength of kills from Whitehead and Kruk guided Berry to victory as they would come back to knock off Southwestern in a nail biter. 

The Vikings will be in action once again at Oglethorpe after a week of rest on October 28.