Tusculum Holds Off Lions
Rebecca Butler leads Mars Hill with 14 kills and 27 digs
MARS HILL, N.C.- The Mars Hill volleyball team lost 3-1 to Tusculum in a South Atlantic Conference match in Stanford Arena on Tuesday night. The Pioneers won by scores of 25-18, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-22. Tusculum improves to 11-11 overall and 8-8 in the league while Mars Hill drops to 6-16 and 4-11.
Rebecca Butler led Mars Hill with 14 kills, followed by 11 from Lauren Hochstetler and 10 from Elizabeth Kaeser. Butler posted a double-double as she finished with 27 digs, followed by Mary Kate Griffin with 25 digs. Victoria Kaiser contributed 15 digs, followed by Andie Russell with 13 and Hochstetler with 10. Russell had three service aces while Kaeser posted four solo blocks.
Sarah Bouley led Tusculum with 14 kills, followed by Madison Shumaker with 12 and Rachel Garnett with 11. Melissa Mazur had 31 digs, followed by Hannah Berling with 21, Andrea Amettis with 18, Sabrina Schleuger with 14 and Bouley with 13.
With the opening set tied at 14, Tusculum went on an 8-0 run to take control of the set. Mars Hill would pull to within four, 22-18 before a Shumaker kill, Amettis service ace and a Lion attack error ended the set.
After a tightly contest opening to the second set, the Lions broke an 11-all tie with an 8-3 run for a 19-14 lead. Tusculum would battle back as the Pioneers scored eight straight points to claim a 22-19 advantage. Mars Hill used a Sara Fahrenbrook kill followed by a pair of Pioneer errors to pull within a point, 24-23, before a Schleuger kill ended the set.
Mars Hill hit a match-best .241 to claim the third set. After the teams traded points for an 11-11 tie, Mars Hill began a 5-1 run thanks to a Kaeser kill. The Lions led 16-12 following a Butler kill before Tusculum trimmed the MHU advantage to 17-15. Mars Hill extended the lead to 21-16 but the Pioneers would answer with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 22 following a Bouley kill. Kaeser and Garnett would trade kills to even the frame at 23 before a TC attack error and Butler kill gave the Lions a 25-23 win.
The Lions opened the fourth set with a 7-3 lead before the visitors evened the frame at 9. Mars Hill enjoyed a 16-13 lead before a Lion service error and consecutive Bouley kills gave Tusculum an 18-17 advantage. After a TC error tied the set at 18, a Bouley kill gave the visitors a lead they wouldn't relinquish as Mars Hill would trail by no more than four points but couldn't tie the set the rest of the way.
Mars Hill travels to Queens on Friday. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
