TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Interim head coach Reaucheandra Matthews Scott enters her first season at the helm of Miles volleyball with high hopes for her young squad. While the Lady Bears dropped their season-opening match to Stillman Thursday evening at Birthright Auditorium in four sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-14), the team showed flashes of being capable of producing a championship-level campaign.

Miles got a bunch of help in the opening set as Stillman made a bunch of errors down the stretch. But a kill by Kendall Townsend, and a combo block by Townsend and Zion Williams helped the Lady Bears close out the opening game. Outside hitter Kayla Trawick, now in a starting role, showed that she can produce at a high level. She finished with 11 kills and hit .207 (11-5-29) - both match highs - and had four kills in the second set as the Lady Bears opened an 18-14 advantage.

But the Tigers stormed back, scoring seven straight points to take the lead and ultimately closed out the second set scoring the final three points, two on Miles errors. The errors became a central theme as the match wore on as the Lady Bears had 27 attack errors over the final three sets, which nearly matched the 28 kills Stillman had during the same period.

Williams (six kills, three blocks), Kayla Hill (12 assists, eight digs), and Eliyah McIlwain (team-high 16 digs) helped pace the Lady Bears, who are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to take on Shorter. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.