Patriots March Past Lions
Francis Marion defeated Mars Hill 3-1 at the Newberry Invitational on Friday
NEWBERRY, S.C. - Mars Hill lost to Francis Marion 3-1 as part of the Newberry Invitational on Friday evening. The Patriots won by scores of 25-21, 23-25, 25-21 and 25-16. Francis Marion improves to 2-0 while Mars Hill falls to 1-1.
Lauren Hochstetler led the Lions with 13 kills, followed by Rebecca Butler with 11 kills. Victoria Kaiser led the Lions with 28 kills, followed by Butler with 15 and Andie Russell with 10.
Carlie Smith recorded 11 kills for Francis Marion, with Carolina Boone adding 10 kills. Shelbi Meek led the Patriots with 19 digs.
FMU held a 14-9 advantage in the first set before the Lions tied the set at 15 following a Hochstetler kill. Mars Hill took a 19-18 lead following a Patriot error but Francis Marion went on a 4-0 run to take control and claim the opening stanza.
With the second set tied at 14, Mars Hill raced ahead to a 18-15 lead before FMU tied the set at 19. The Lions took a 22-19 lead only to see Francis Marion rally back to even the score. An Elizabeth Kaeser kill gave Mars Hill a 23-22 lead, with the final two points coming thanks to Patriot errors.
Francis Marion broke a 20-all tie in the third set thanks to a Kadeeja Griffin kill. With Mars Hill trailing 22-21, the Patriots used kills from Alexzandra Reed and Smith along with a Lion error to win the set. In the fourth set, the Patriots used a 8-3 run during the middle portion of the frame to pull away from Mars Hill and claim the match.
Mars Hill concludes the Newberry Invitational on Saturday against Belmont Abbey at 9 a.m. and UNC Pembroke at 3 p.m.
