Volleyball Falls to Georgia College and USC Aiken

GREENEVILLE, TENN. – The Mars Hill volleyball team dropped a pair of games during the opening day of the 2016 SAC/Peach Belt Crossover inside of Pioneer Arena. The Lions fought hard in game one against Georgia College, but fell in five sets (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, and 10-15. In the nightcap the Blue and Gold fell 3-1 (20-25, 17-25, 25-22, and 25-21) against USC Aiken. The Lions fall to 3-13 on the season.

GAME ONE

Georgia College took an early 13-6 lead in set one. That lead ballooned to 18-10 before the Lions used a pesky 12-5 burst to cut the deficit to 23-22. However, the Bobcats collected two of the next three points to take set one 25-23.

The Bobcats looked primed to take a commanding 2-0 match lead in the early stages of the second set, tallying the first four points of the frame. Mary Kate Griffin then went on a tear from the service line, collecting eight consecutive points to give the Lions an 8-4 lead. GC battled again to take the lead at 21-19, but that would be the last point it would see as Mars Hill ended the set on a 6-0 run to knot the match at one-all.

Georgia College took set three 25-23 and the Lions dominated set four 25-14 to send the match to the decisive fifth set. After the two teams traded the initial 10 points, the Bobcats used a 5-0 run to take the lead at 10-5. A lead they would not relinquish, finishing the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Lauren Hochstetler paced the way for the Lions with a game-high 20 kills to go along with 19 digs, while Rebecca Butler and Maddie Spurgeon chipped in 12 kills each. Griffin turned in a double-double with 10 kills and 23 digs. Victoria Kaiser anchored the defense with 40 digs, while Andie Russell contributed 37 assists.

GAME TWO

The first set was a seesaw battle with each team not giving an inch. With the score knotted at 20-all, the Pacers went on a 5-0 run to take the set 25-20 and a 1-0 match lead.

Set two mirrored the first with the frame being relatively close until late. USCA took a 16-16 game and used a massive 9-1 run to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

The Lions came roaring back in set three, firing on all cylinders from the beginning. Aiken took a brief 4-3 lead, but that was the last they would see of an advantage as the Lions built as much as a six-point lead on their way to a pivotal 25-22 set win, sending the match into an important fourth set.

However, USC Aiken would control the fourth set. After racing to an 8-5 lead, a 10-7 run made it 18-12 late. Although the Lions would narrow the deficit to 20-19, the gap was too much as the Pacers eventually ended the set, 25-21 and the match, 3-1.

Hochstetler led the way once again with 11 kills and Griffin chipped in 10. Kaiser picked up 25 digs, while Sara Fahrenbrook and Russell combined for 41 assists.

Mars Hill will play a pair of games tomorrow to close out the 2016 SAC/Peach Belt Crossover. The Lions will take on Augusta University at 1 p.m. before matching up against Lander at 5 p.m.