Lions Hand Lenoir-Rhyne First Conference Loss

MARS HILL, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack to defeat Lenoir-Rhyne in four sets and hand the Bears their first South Atlantic Conference loss of the season Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena.

After splitting the first two sets 26-24, 23-25, the Lions took the final two 25-23 and 25-19 to earn the victory. Three players notched double-digit kills for MHU, led by Marissa Wixson's 15 kills. Wixson added 15 digs for a double-double. Courtney Worthington added a career-high 50 assists for the Lions and also notched seven digs. Haley Rhyne led the Bears with 13 kills. Mars Hill improved to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in SAC matches. Lenoir-Rhyne falls to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference matches.

Toni Cole notched 13 kills and five digs for the Lions. MaryKate Griffin added 14 kills and seven digs. Pacing the defensive effort was Maggie Murphy's 21 digs. Victoria Kaiser recorded a solo block, assisted on four others and notched 14 digs defensively. Kaiser provided an offensive spark as well with eight kills on a .571 hitting percentage. The Lions hit .217 while holding Lenoir-Rhyne to a .154 clip.

Brittany Toffan added 11 kills for Lenoir-Rhyne. Nkaujshua Lo had a match-high 25 digs. Kiaya Robinson added nine kills and 10 digs for the Bears.

An 8-2 run in the first set helped Mars Hill turn a 10-10 tie into an 18-12 lead. The Lions notched three service aces during that stretch, two coming from Kaiser and the other from Griffin. Cole provided three kills during that stretch. L-R was able to rally back to take the lead at 23-22 after a Lion attack error, but Cole responded with a kill to tie the score back up. The two teams traded points after a Lion service error and kill by Worthington. A kill by Cole and block by Worthington and Regan Macomson gave MHU the 26-24 victory

Neither team led by more than four points in the second set. The Bears broke a 22-22 tie after a Lion attack error and a kill by Kiaya Robinson to make it 24-22. A kill by Wixson pulled MHU within one, but an attack error by the Lions gave L-R the 25-23 victory.

The third set was another tight one, with neither team leading by more than three points. Back-to-back kills by Wixson broke a 22-22 tie and gave the Lions a late cushion. A kill by Toffan brought L-R back within one, but Wixson put away the final point of the set for the 25-23 margin.

A six-point run with Christen Nicholson holding serve gave MHU a 12-6 lead in the deciding set. A strong presence by the Lions at the net led to a number of attack errors by L-R to give MHU the advantage. Mars Hill pushed the lead to as much as nine when a kill by Griffin made the score 20-11. A kill by Cole finished off the Bears by a score of 25-19.

Mars Hill will look to extend their winning-streak to three when they host Queens Tuesday, Sep. 24 at 7:00 p.m.