Lions drop second match with Lincoln Memorial in four sets
After pulling away with the first set, the Mars Hill Lions volleyball team could not ride the momentum as they lost 3-1 to Lincoln Memorial in their second meeting this season on the road Tuesday evening. Lauren Hochstetler had 17 kills on a game and season-high 56 attempts.
HARROGATE, Tenn. - After pulling away with the first set, the Mars Hill Lions volleyball team could not ride the momentum as they lost 3-1 to Lincoln Memorial in their second meeting this season on the road Tuesday evening. Lauren Hochstetler had 17 kills on a game and season-high 56 attempts.
The Lions and Railsplitters appeared evenly matched in the first set, trading points throughout the duration until the Lions got a break and capitalized to take the first stanza, 27-25. Hochstetler and Maddie Spurgeon had four kills at the end of the first set.
Lincoln Memorial battled back, taking the next three sets to sweep the season series against the Lions.
Keira Holland, who had a game-high 25 kills, knocked down nine of those in a dominating second set performance. Lincoln Memorial had a team hitting percentage of .438 compared to Mars Hill's .000 with eight errors and eight kills on 42 two attempts.
The third set saw the Lions claw back into the contest, but still edged 25-20 as errors continued to hamper their offense.
In a nail-biting fourth set, Mars Hill almost had a repeat performance from earlier in the season as they attempted to force a fifth set. The Railsplitters, however, had other plans as they ended the set by a score of 26-24. Holland hammered home another six kills.
Lindsey Nartker had a game-high five aces for Lincoln Memorial to go along with 15 digs and 12 kills. Erica Whiteaker, the SAC's leader in digs, had 47 on the night, also a game-high.
Hochstetler matched her kill total in digs and added two blocks. Sally Anne Johnson led the Lions with seven blocks on the night and knocked down seven kills. Sarah Pasour assisted on 19 Lions' points.
The Lions fall to 4-10 (3-8 SAC) as Lincoln Memorial improves to 7-8 (4-7 SAC).
Mars Hill will put conference play on hiatus for ten days when they participate in the SAC/Peach Belt X-Over beginning on Friday, October 13 and concluding the next day. The Lions will take on S.C. Aiken and Augusta at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
