Lions sweep weekend SAC action with 3-1 win over Newberry
The Mars Hill volleyball team won their 10th game of the season with a 3-1 victory over Newberry on the road Saturday afternoon. Lauren Hochstetler led the way with 12 kills.
NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team won their 10th game of the season with a 3-1 victory over Newberry on the road Saturday afternoon. Lauren Hochstetler led the way with 12 kills.
The Lions 10-15 (9-10 SAC) won the first set, 25-16, with a .268 team hitting percentage. Elizabeth Kaeser knocked down five of her six kills in the opening frame. Sally Anne Johnson and Maddie Spurgeon each had three block assists.
Mars Hill rolled over the momentum to take a tightly contested 25-23 second set against the Wolves. Midway through the set, the Lions trailed 10-12 before three straight attack errors allowed Newberry to extend their lead. Mars Hill would go on to take seven of the next eight points to take a 17-16 advantage, capitalizing off of four straight Wolves' attacking errors.
Holding a 24-21 lead late in the frame, the Wolves pulled within one before Hochstetler hammered home a kill to take a two set lead.
Newberry controlled the play in the third stanza, only trailing at one point early on, 2-1. Toni Whitlow led the Wolves' offense with five kills in the third set. She ended the contest with a team-high 11 as Newberry forced a fourth set.
The Lions wrapped up the contest 25-20 in the fourth set with Johnson's eighth kill of the night. Tied at 11 midway through the set, a kill from Hochstetler put the Lions in the lead for the remainder of the contest, leading by as much as six down the stretch.
Taylor Garrison had a double-double with 28 assists and 16 digs for the Wolves. Kensley Jordan led the team with 28 digs. Zoe Dinkins recorded a game-high eight block assists.
Rebecca Butler dug a team-high 25 balls and added nine kills. Abby King led the Lions with 22 assists, followed by Sarah Pasour's 21. Johnson finished the contest with eight kills and five block assists while Spurgeon had nine kills, one solo block and four block assists.
Mars Hill's victories over Coker and Newberry over the weekend have put the Lions tied for sixth in the South Atlantic Conference with Lincoln Memorial. Newberry fell to 8-17 (4-14 SAC) on the season.
The Lions wrap up the 2017 regular with two home contests in the upcoming week. Lenoir-Rhyne will enter Stanford Arena on Tuesday, November 7 for a 7 p.m. contest. The last regular season game will see the Lions hosting the SAC's top team, Anderson, on Saturday, November 11 at 2 p.m.
