Lions play Anderson tough, lose closely fought match
The Mars Hill volleyball team (3-2, 0-1 SAC) were downed in three sets to Anderson (8-1, 1-0 SAC) in their 2018 South Atlantic Conference and home opener Tuesday night in Stanford arena by a score of 3-1.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team (3-2, 0-1 SAC) were downed in three sets to Anderson (8-1, 1-0 SAC) in their 2018 South Atlantic Conference and home opener Tuesday night in Stanford arena by a score of 3-1.
Anderson took the first set by a mark of 25-18 and was led offensively by Regan Duty and Hailee Wilhelm who each knocked down three kills. Reigning SAC Volleyball Specialist of the week Emily Conlin had 15 of her total 51 assists in the first frame. The Lions attack stuttered in the first set having only five kills to go with six errors on 36 attempts. Sally Anne Johnson and Elizabeth Kaeser each had two kills.
The second set saw the Lions draw even by winning long rallies and capitalizing from behind the service line, dropping in four aces. Kaeser, Abby King, Sarah Goddard and Ully Martins each got an ace in the second frame. With set tied late, Mars Hill was able to rally and tie the game at one set apiece to the roar of a thunderous Stanford Arena crowd. Johnson and Goddard had a team-high three kills in the set.
Battling back, the Trojans took the third set by the same score as the first, driving down 16 kills with only three erros to hit a game-high .289. Kaitlyn Grube had four kills to lead all players in the third. Anderson would go on to close out the game despite a late charge from the Lions in the fourth set by a score of 25-22. A persistent Lions team battled deep into the contest, but the overpowering offense from Anderson sealed the deal in the first meeting of the season between these two teams.
Grube led all players with 14 kills and added four aces. Jalyn Knight and Wilhelm each recorded double digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively. Meghan DeVaux led all players with 31 digs.
Goddard, in her first career collegiate game, tied Kaeser on the Lions for the most kills with seven. Kaeser also led the team in digs with 22 on the evening. Sara Pasour had 16 assists to go along with 10 digs.
The Lions head to Spartanburg, S.C. on Friday to kickoff the Converse Tournament with a 10:30 a.m. tilt versus Alabama-Huntsville. They then play North Greenville later that afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
