Lions Sweep Brevard to Earn First SAC Win

MARS HILL, N.C.—Mars Hill's volleyball team earned its first South Atlantic Conference victory of the season with a 3-0 sweep over Brevard Friday evening at Stanford Arena.

The Lions won by scores of 25-15, 25-21 and 25-18. MaryKate Griffin paced MHU with a career-high 11 kills on an efficient .333 hitting percentage. Courtney Worthington distributed a career-high 33 assists and also added four digs and a pair of service aces. Erin Rollins and Fatima Gharachorloo each had eight kills to pace Brevard. Mars Hill improves to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in SAC matches. Brevard is now 3-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Marissa Wixson added 10 kills and seven digs for the Lions. Maggie Murphy notched a match-high 15 digs and added four assists. Toni Cole added eight kills. Mars Hill outhit Brevard by a .243- .130 margin and had seven team blocks.

Camille Cameron added six kills for Brevard. Kayla Hanus chipped in with 19 assists and nine digs. Kortney Connor notched a team-high 10 digs for BC.

A 7-2 run in the first set helped Mars Hill turn a four-all tie into an 11-6 advantage. Wixson had two kills in that stretch, while Regan Macomson added one of her three kills. The Lions ran off the final five points of the set, with Worthington holding serve during that stretch. Kills by Victoria Kaiser, Wixson, Worthington and Macomson closed out the 25-15 win.

MHU raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second set. Griffin provided a kill and a service ace during that stretch, while the Lions were able to capitalize on several BC attack errors. The Tornados were able to pull within 21-20 late on a kill by Cameron, but the Lions rallied to put away four of the final five points of the set. Cole had two kills and notched the set point on a service ace in the 25-21 victory.

The Lions broke open a nine-all tie with seven straight points. Wixson had two kills during that stretch, while Macomson and Worthington each added kills. A kill by Natalie Rhew capped off the match and gave MHU the 25-18 victory.

Mars Hill will host Lenoir-Rhyne tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in Stanford Arena.