Lions Fall Short at Lenoir-Rhyne
HICKORY, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team fell to Lenoir-Rhyne in four sets in a South Atlantic Conference match Monday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.
HICKORY, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team fell to Lenoir-Rhyne in four sets in a South Atlantic Conference match Monday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.
The Lions took the opening set 25-21 before L-R rallied for 25-11, 25-21 and 25-22 victories. Toni Cole led MHU with 16 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Andie Russell added a career-high 16 assists for MHU. Morgan Bunker led L-R with 17 kills and 14 digs, while Haley Rhyne added 16 kills and 17 digs. Mars Hill falls to 11-7 overall and 9-5 in SAC matches. Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 12-5 overall and 9-4 in conference play.
MaryKate Griffin added 12 kills for MHU. Maggie Murphy notched a match-high 29 digs. Christen Nicholson recorded 11 digs, while Victoria Kaiser added 10 digs and four kills. The Lions hit .127 in the match.
Brittany Toffan recorded 10 kills and .381 for L-R. Ashley Wells and Kaylor Morrow added nine kills-apiece. Nkaujshua Lo notched a team-high 23 digs. Briana Gottberg set the Bear attack that hit .228 on the evening with 56 assists.
Mars Hill came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, putting away the first seven points of the match. Griffin had three kills during that stretch. L-R came back to pull within 22-21 on a kill by Rhyne, but a service error, Griffin kill and block by Cole and Courtney Worthington gave MHU the first set, 25-21.
The Bears returned the favor with a hot start to the second set. L-R opened up a 5-0 lead and never looked back, as the Lions got no closer than 6-3 the rest of the way. L-R hit .267 in the set while holding MHU to a -.091 clip.
A kill by Cole gave MHU a 12-10 lead in the third set, but five straight by the Bears gave L-R a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Mars Hill got no closer than two the rest of the set as Lenoir-Rhyne earned the 25-21 victory.
The Bears overcame an 8-1 start by Mars Hill to earn the victory in the fourth set. Cole had two kills, while Griffin added another pace the hot start for MHU. A 12-2 run gave the Bears the lead for good at 13-10. The Lions got no closer than two the rest of the way as L-R closed out the match with a 25-22 win.
Mars Hill will travel to Brevard for a conference match this Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m.
