GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 2 Vanderbilt bowling defeated third-ranked Jacksonville State in the championship match to win the North Carolina A&T Stallings Invitational Sunday, compiling a 10-2 tournament record.
“We showed a lot of resiliency coming back from the disappointing finish in our first match,” head coach John Williamson said. “The championship match wasn’t high scoring, but we won a couple clean games without doubling strikes. We executed at a pretty high level despite the hard transition.”
Junior Alyssa Ballard was named the event’s MVP and earned a spot on the all-tournament team after compiling the highest individual average of the weekend. She posted scores of 179, 243, 212, 244, 208 and 226 between Saturday and Sunday to average 218.67 pins per game, almost seven pins higher than the bowler in second place. It is the second tournament MVP honor of Ballard’s career. It is also her second all-tournament team this season and the fifth of her career.
In their first match of the day, the Commodores dropped a tight 992-980 decision to Jacksonville State, earning the No. 2 seed heading into bracket play.
Vandy had a rematch with the 15th-ranked Dukes, who handed the Dores their only other loss of the weekend. Vanderbilt would emerge victorious over Duquesne, winning the best-of-seven Baker match 4-2.
The Dores and Gamecocks met again in the championship match. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 2-0 advantage but fell 211-193 in Game 3. The Commodores, however, regained their footing to take the next two games, the last one by a single pin, and win the match 4-1.
“I’m super proud of the girls for committing to what needed to happen, especially because it was hard to do,” Williamson said. “Next up, our home tournament. We’re looking forward to trying to see if we can win that one next.”
Vandy will have a weekend off before hosting the Music City Classic at the Smyrna Bowling Center in Smyrna, Tennessee, March 14-16.
