Lions Fall to Newberry
Newberry defeats Mars Hill 3-2 in SAC action
MARS HILL, N.C.- The Mars Hill volleyball team lost 3-2 in South Atlantic Conference action to Newberry in Stanford Arena on Tuesday night. Newberry won by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 21-25 and 15-12. Mars Hill falls to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in league play while Newberry improves to 6-2 and 2-1.
Rebecca Butler and Lauren Hochstetler each had 14 kills to lead the Lion attack. Mary Kate Griffin added 12 kills. Victoria Kaiser had a match-high 32 digs, with Butler recording 21 digs. Hochstetler finished with 15 digs. Sara Fahrenbrook had 14 digs, with Andie Russell contributing 11 digs. Russell had a team-leading 27 assists.
Logan Hayward and Alexus Horton each had 16 kills to lead the Wolves. Kensley Jordan had 31 digs, followed by Hayward with 21 and Mary Siebert with 19.
A Madison Darby-McClure kill gave the visitors a 19-14 lead in the opening set before Mars Hill used consecutive Butler kills to tie the frame at 20. The Wolves went on a 4-0 run for a 24-20 lead before the Lions pulled to within one thanks to a pair of kills from Hochstetler and one from Fahrenbrook. A Lion attack error ended the set.
With the second set tied at 20, a Hochstetler kill along with a pair of Newberry errors gave Mars Hill a 23-20 advantage. A pair of attack errors would close out the set as the Lions tied the contest at 1 thanks to a 25-21 victory.
The Lions held a 22-17 lead in the third set before a pair of MHU attack errors, two Newberry kills and a service ace tied the set at 23. The teams traded points before consecutive kills from Hayward and Darby-McClure gave the Wolves a 26-24 victory in the frame.
A Butler kill gave Mars Hill a 19-17 lead in the fourth set. Mars Hill used a Griffin kill along with five Newberry errors to claim a 25-21 victory and force a fifth set.
Mars Hill dashed ahead to a 5-2 lead in the fifth set following a Butler kill but the Wolves would use a 4-0 run to claim a 10-6 lead. Newberry led 12-8 but the Lions used kills form Hochstetler, Maddie Spurgeon and Griffin to pull within one, 12-11. Newberry answered with a pair of kills for a 14-11 lead as the Lions would get no closer than three points.
Mars Hill hosts Anderson at 7 p.m. on Friday