Newberry Knocks Off Volleyball

NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team lost to Newberry 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference action on Tuesday night in Eleazer Arena. The Wolves won by scores of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-14 to improve their record to 11-15 overall and 7-13 in the league. Mars Hill drops to 7-20 and 5-15.

Maddie Spurgeon led Mars Hill with seven kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Victoria Kaiser had a team-leading 10 digs. Andie Russell dished out 10 assists.

Alexis Bryant had 11 kills for Newberry, followed by Madison Darby-McClure with 10. Kensley Jordan had 18 digs, with Logan Hayward contributing 12 digs.

The Wolves won the first four points of the match and held an 8-3 lead before the Lions took advantage of an attack error to pull within three, 12-9. Newberry went on an 11-3 run for a 23-12 lead before a serving error sparked a 6-0 Mars Hill run as the visitors used a Spurgeon kill to make the score 23-18. A Spurgeon kill and a Newberry attack error brought Mars Hill to within four, 24-20, before a Darby-McClure kill ended the set.

Mars Hill held a 10-7 lead in the second set thanks to an Elizabeth Kaeser kill only to see Newberry use a 5-0 run for a 12-10 advantage. Two Spurgeon kills followed by two Newberry attack errors gave the Lions a 14-12 lead before the Wolves tied the set at 14. Newberry took the lead for good on a MHU attack error as the Lions would hang within two points before the Wolves used a 4-0 run to end the set.

A Kaeser kill gave the Lions a 4-3 lead in the third set only to see Newberry take a 7-4 lead. Mars Hill would cut the deficit to one, 7-6, before Newberry scored 11 of the next 12 points to take control of the set and claim the match.

Mars Hill will host Lincoln Memorial on Friday in the final home match of the 2015 season. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.