Lions Sweep Brevard for 10th Conference Win
MARS HILL, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team swept Brevard in a South Atlantic Conference match Friday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.
MARS HILL, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team swept Brevard in a South Atlantic Conference match Friday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.
The Lions earned 25-18, 25-14 and 25-21 victories to improve to 12-7 overall and 10-5 in SAC matches. This is the first time since 1998 Mars Hill has won 10 or more conference matches in a season. Marissa Wixson led the way offensively with 13 kills and a pair of aces. Maggie Murphy notched 18 digs for the Lions to pull within striking distance of the school's all-time digs record. The senior needs 20 digs to break Nicole Silver's all-time mark of 2,216 digs, a record that has stood for 14 years. Fatima Gharachorloo paced Brevard with nine kills and added seven digs. Brevard fell to 6-13 overall and 2-12 in conference matches.
MaryKate Griffin turned in another efficient offensive performance with 12 kills on a .346 hitting percentage. Toni Cole hit .308 and added 11 kills for MHU. Courtney Worthington notched 29 assists. Mars Hill recorded nine blocks and held Brevard to an .095 hitting percentage.
Kayla Hanus notched a double-double for Brevard with 28 assists and 13 digs. Aleksandra Vrvilo had a team-high 17 digs for the Tornados. Erin Rollins added eight kills in the match.
The two teams traded big runs to start the match, with MHU taking the lead for good at 14-13 on a kill by Wixson. That jump-started a six-point run that included two service aces by Cole to open up a seven-point lead. MHU won by that margin, 25-18.
Mars Hill started the second set on fire, opening up a 13-3 lead. Four different Lions recorded kills in the stretch, paced by Griffin and Wixson with three-apiece. MHU would lead by as many as 12 in the set as they earned the 25-14 victory.
Brevard took a 14-12 lead in the final set, but a six-point run gave the Lions the lead for good. Wixson notched an ace and a kill, while Griffin added a kill and a block to help MHU open up the lead. The Tornados got no closer than three the rest of the way, as the Lions closed out the victory 25-21.
Mars Hill will continue their four-game road swing when they travel to Queens for a 7:00 p.m. match Oct. 29.
