Lions Fall to Armstrong State, Sweep Emmanuel in Hughston Clinic Invite

COLUMBUS, GA. – The Mars Hill volleyball team finished up the second and final day of the Hughston Clinic Invite with a split of a pair of games. The Lions fell 3-0 to Armstrong State in the first match of the afternoon before bouncing back to take down Emmanuel 3-0 in the final game. Mars Hill is now 1-2 on the young season.

MATCH ONE

Armstrong State wasted no time establishing a lead, jumping out 9-2 in the opening set and forcing an early stoppage by the Lions. The hiatus did not do much for MHU as the Pirates expanded their lead to double digits at 16-6. The 10-point lead would hold until the end of the set with the Pirates winning 25-15.

Set number two mirrored the first with ASU quickly running out to a 14-3 lead. That would be as close as the Lions would get in the second frame as Armstrong State took a commanding 2-0 match lead with a 25-14 second set win.

The third session had a different feel to it as a seesaw battle ensued, seeing the first 16 points alternated. However, just as they had done the previous two sets, the Pirates used a run to seize control of the game. This time a 12-4 spurt gave Armstrong State a comfortable 20-12 lead and from there it was all academic as ASU closed out the match with a 25-15 third set win.

Sara Fahrenbrook paced the way for the Lions, just missing out on a double-double, dishing out 25 assists and digging nine balls on the defensive end. Lauren Hochstetler pitched in eight kills and seven digs.

MATCH TWO

What appeared to be a fairly competitive first set turned into a beating at the hands of Mars Hill. With the set knotted at 6-all the Blue and Gold exploded for a massive 16-2 run, fueled by Rebecca Butler, who at one point, notched 11 consecutive points, including two service aces. MHU went on to take set one with ease, 25-11.

With the newly found confidence, Mars Hill continued to be the aggressor in the second stanza, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. Emmanuel would make a run and cut the deficit to 13-12, but a service clinic from Maddie Spurgeon saw the Lions of Mars Hill reel off eight consecutive points, expanding its lead to 21-13. Emmanuel collected one more point following an attack error by MHU, but the Blue and Gold regained their composure and tallied the next four points to take set two 25-14.

Set three copied the first two with Mars Hill pouncing early for a 7-2 lead following a kill by Mary Kate Griffin. Emmanuel closed the gap to 21-17, but it was too little, too late as MHU took four of the next six points to cap off the sweep.

Griffin tallied a game-high 11 kills while also finishing with nine digs. Fahrenbrook recorded 12 assists per set, ending with 36 on the afternoon. Victoria Kaiser added 29 digs and Hochstetler pitched in seven kills and 10 digs. Freshman Sydney Green delivered a solid performance with nine kills and nine bigs in the winning effort.

The Lions will return to action on Friday, September 9 as they travel to Johsnon City, Tenn. to open up conference play against Carson Newman. First serve is anticipated to cross the net at 7 p.m.