Crusaders Defeat Lions
Belmont Abbey won by scores of 25-22, 18-25, 25-22 and 25-22
NEWBERRY, S.C. - Belmont Abbey defeated the Mars Hill volleyball team 3-1 on Saturday morning, with each of the Crusaders' winning sets coming by a 25-22 margin. Belmont Abbey improves to 2-1 while Mars Hill drops to 1-2.
Lauren Hochstetler led the Lions with 16 kills and 24 digs, followed by Elizabeth Kaeser with 13 kills, Maddie Spurgeon with 12 kills and Rebecca Butler with 11 kills. Butler added 20 digs, followed by Victoria Kaiser with 13 digs
Hannah Schellenberg had 22 kills to lead Belmont Abbey, followed by Caitlin Hankins with 14 and Coreen Norwood with 13. Sarah Kenney had 25 digs, followed by Schellenberg with 24.
Mars Hill held an 11-9 lead in the opening set before a pair of attack errors allowed the Crusaders to tie the score at 11. With the teams tied at 18, an Aimee Cloninger kill began a 4-1 Belmont Abbey run. Mars Hill battled back to pull within two (24-22) before a Hanks kill gave the Crusaders the opening set.
With the second set tied at 12, Spurgeon had four kills along with three Crusader errors to give the Lions a 19-12 lead. Mars Hill would extend their lead to 22-14 before claiming the set 25-18.
A Hankins kill broke an 18-18 tie in the third set as Belmont Abbey went on a 5-1 run for a 23-19 lead. Mars Hill pulled to within one, 23-22, thanks to a Crusader attack error and kills from Spurgeon and Hochstetler. A Mars Hill error followed by a Schellenberg kill gave the Crusaders a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead for the match.
The Lions held a 15-13 lead before a Hankins kill and three Lion errors gave Belmont Abbey a 17-15 lead. Mars Hill trailed by a point four times down the stretch but Belmont Abbey had an answer on each point as the Lions were unable to draw even for the rest of the set as the Crusaders won 25-22.
Mars Hill concludes the Newberry Invitational this afternoon at 3 p.m. against UNC Pembroke.
