Lions Defeat Brevard on Senior Night

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team defeated Brevard 3-1 on Senior Night in Stanford Arena on Friday. Mars Hill won by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-12 and 25-21 to improve to 7-19 overall and 5-14 in the South Atlantic Conference. Brevard falls to 10-15 and 7-12.

Rebecca Butler led Mars Hills with 16 kills, followed by Mary Kate Griffin with 11 and Maddie Spurgeon with 10. Butler hit .319 in the match.  Lauren Hochstetler recorded 20 digs to lead the Lion defense, followed by Victoria Kaiser with 19 digs, Butler with 18 digs and Maddie Chervenak with 11 digs. Andie Russell had a season-high 47 assists. Chervenak was honored prior to the match during MHU's Senior Night festivities.

Fatima Gharachorloo led Brevard with 12 kills, followed by Savannah Cox with nine. Aleksandra Vrvilo had 29 digs, followed by Bri Vargas with 17 digs, Gharachorloo with 16 digs and Kindle Kirkham with 11 digs.

In a tightly contested opening set where neither team led by more than three points, a Spurgeon kill followed by a BC attack error tied the set at 16. The teams would trade the next four points to be tied at 18. Following a Lion error to give the visitors a 19-18 lead, Mars Hill went on a 3-0 run capped by a Butler kill to claim a 21-19 advantage. Brevard would trim the lead to one, 23-22, before consecutive kills from Spurgeon and Elizabeth Kaeser gave MHU a 25-22 victory.

With the second set tied at 12, a Cox kill began a 4-1 run for Brevard as they led 16-13. Mars Hill would pull to within one, 16-15, thanks to a Kaeser kill but would get no closer than two points the rest of the set as Brevard evened the match at 1.

Mars Hill hit a match-best .324 to claim the third set. After a Gharachorloo ace tied the set at 5, MHU went on an 8-0 run for a 13-5 lead. Brevard would get no closer than seven points for the remainder of the set as the Lions used a 25-12 third set win for a 2-1 lead in the match.

A Griffin kill sparked a 4-1 run in the fourth set to give Mars Hill a 19-11 advantage. The Lions led 21-13 lead in the fourth set but saw the Tornados rally back to trim the lead to 22-18 following a MHU attack error. Brevard pulled to within two, 23-21, before a Hochstetler kill and a BC attack error ended the match.

Mars Hill hits the road on Tuesday, traveling to Newberry for a 7 p.m. contest.