Lions Open 2015 Season With 3-2 Victory Over Lees-McRae
Mars Hill rallied for a 3-2 victory over Lees-McRae
NEWBERRY, S.C.- The Mars Hill volleyball team opened the 2015 season with a 3-2 victory over Lees-McRae at the Newberry Invitational on Friday afternoon. Mars Hill won by scores of 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17 and 15-12.
Rebecca Butler posted a double-double with 14 kills and 21 digs. Mary Kate Griffin had 11 kills and 11 digs. Victoria Kaiser recorded a match-high 28 digs, with Andie Russell (12) and Sara Fahrenbrook also finishing with double figures in digs. Russell led the Lions with 23 assists.
Jarliz Cotte led Lees-McRae with 14 kills, followed by Avalon Liscio with 12, Haylee Leonard with 11 and Jordan Banta with 10. Madison Martin had a match-high 47 digs.
Lees-McRae jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before the Lions fought back with an 8-1 run to take a 9-6 lead. Griffin served five straight balls, with three service aces during that stretch. With the teams tied at 15, the Bobcats scored seven straight points for a 22-15 lead. The Lions cut the deficit to four (22-18) following a Kaiser service ace, but would get no closer. Mars Hill had five service aces in the opening set.
Mars Hill tied the match with a 25-22 victory in a tightly contested second set that featured seven ties and six lead changes. . Mars Hill enjoyed the biggest lead by either team in the frame with a 22-18 advantage following a Lees-McRae attack error. Lees-McRae pulled to within two, 24-22, following a pair of Lion errors before a Lauren Hochstetler kill ended the set.
The lengthy third set went to Lees-McRae. Following a power outage that resulted in a brief delay with Mars Hill leading 16-14, the Bobcats evened the score at 16 before a Hochstetler kill gave the Lions a 17-16 lead. The Bobcats would tie the set at 22 with a Cotte kill before an Liscio kill and consecutive errors by the Lions gave the Bobcats the third set win.
Mars Hill hit a match-high. 343 en route to a 25-17 fourth set victory. The Lions jumped out to an 8-4 lead and led by as many as eight (22-14) to force a fifth set.
In the fifth set, Mars Hill enjoyed a 10-6 lead only to see the Bobcats come back to pull within two, 12-10. A Liscio kill and a Lion error brought Lees-McRae to within one, 13-12, but a Butler kill and Bobcat error gave the Lions the victory.
