Mars Hill drops Newberry in thrilling four-set victory
The Mars Hill Lions pulled off a dramatic four-set victory (25-16, 24-26, 25-18, 27-25) in Stanford Arena Saturday evening over Newberry. Sally Anne Johnson led the way with 12 kills.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill Lions pulled off a dramatic four-set victory (25-16, 24-26, 25-18, 27-25) in Stanford Arena Saturday evening over Newberry. Sally Anne Johnson led the way with 12 kills and a match-high .524 hitting percentage.
The Lions swept their weekend series against Coker and Newberry to pick up their first two victories at home and in the conference.
Johnson collected five of her kills in the first set, including the set clinching attack. The Lions and Wolves battled back and forth in the early stages, but Mars Hill eventually pulled away with an 18-9 lead midway through the set. The nine point lead was their largest in the first frame and provided enough of a cushion for the Lions to secure the first set.
The second set saw the teams in a more tightly contested battle with each point meaning more and more down the stretch. The Lions last led the set when it was 18-17 and had to play strong defensively throughout to keep the set close. The team had 32 digs in the set alone, led by Elizabeth Kaeser's eight. Ultimately, the strong Wolves' attack led by Toni-Anne Whitlow's six second set kills tied the contest up for Newberry heading into the third frame.
Similarly played as the first set, the Lions pulled away late going on a 5-2 run to close out the third frame. Johnson had two kills in the final stretch. An attack error from Alexis Bryant secured the third set for the Lions.
In a thrilling, nail-biting fourth set, Johnson and Dayanna Barbosa paced the Lions offense with four kills apiece. A three-point lead was the largest either team saw in the final frame. Newberry racked up 35 digs with eight alone from Cydney Shaw to keep themselves in the contest. Maddie Spurgeon's ninth kill of the evening set up match point for the Lions. Off of Abby King's serve, Whitlow sent the ball wide on her attack.
Whitlow led all players with 16 kills. Taylor Garrison ran the Wolves' offense with 44 assists and contributed 14 digs. Kensley Jordan led Newberry defensively and tied Mars Hill's Lauren Hochstetler for a game-high 22 digs.
Hochstetler also added three aces and eight kills on the evening. Sarah Pasour assisted on 22 points, had 20 digs and added two aces.
Newberry drops to 6-7 (2-5 SAC) while Mars Hill improves to 3-8 (2-6 SAC).
The Lions hit the road for the next eight games, starting on Tuesday, October 3 when they travel to Lenoir-Rhyne. The contest is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
