Lions Defeat Queens to Win Third Straight

MARS HILL, N.C.-- Mars Hill's volleyball team extended their winning streak to three with a four-set victory over Queens Tuesday night in Stanford Arena.

After dropping the first set 18-25, the Lions rallied to earn 25-14, 25-23, 25-15 victories. Toni Cole and MaryKate Griffin paced the MHU attack with 16 kills apiece. Victoria Kaiser added a career-high 21 digs and seven service aces. Keri Kemp led Queens with 18 kills. Mars Hill improves to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in SAC matches. Queens falls to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Cole hit an efficient .500, while Griffin's 16 kills came on a .400 hitting percentage. Kaiser held serve for 30 Lion points over the course of the match. Marissa Wixson added nine kills and 10 digs. Maggie Murphy notched 15 digs.

Kemp added nine digs for Queens. Elizabeth Bialkowski had 10 kills. Jocelyn Kellinger notched a team-high 14 digs for the Royals. QU hit .154 in the match.

Queens took control of the first set and built a 16-7 lead. Mars Hill would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as QU took the set 25-18.

The two teams traded blows throughout the second set until the Lions seized control following a kill by Griffin to make the score 15-14. Kaiser held serve the rest of the set as MHU rattled off 11 straight points. Kaiser notched three service aces during that stretch, while Griffin added three more kills. Cole added a pair of kills during the run, which sparked the Lions to the 25-14 victory.

Another big run with Kaiser serving helped the Lions overcome a 22-18 deficit in the third set. A kill by Griffin started the run, with MHU scoring five straight with Kaiser serving to take a 24-22 lead. Kaiser added another ace during that stretch, while Murphy and Cole added kills. A kills by Kemp cut the score to one, but an attack error gave MHU the set, 25-23.

Kaiser's serving helped MHU build a big lead in the fourth set. The Lions won nine straight points to take a commanding 12-2 lead early. MHU would lead by as much as 12 on their way to closing out the Royals, 25-15.

Mars Hill will continue SAC play Saturday when they host Catawba at 2:00 p.m. in Stanford Arena.