Lions Drop 3-1 Decision to Newberry
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Newberry inside Chambers Gymnasium on Friday night.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Newberry inside Chambers Gymnasium on Friday night. After taking the first set 25-23, Mars Hill lost the next three by scores of 21-25, 23-25, and 21-25. The Lions fell to 7-19 overall and 6-13 in the league, while NC improved to 17-10 overall and 14-5 within the conference.
The Wolves jumped out to a 10-4 lead early in the first set, but the Lions came roaring back with a 10-3 run to take the lead at 14-13. That advantage blossomed to 18-14 before Newberry tallied four straight to knot the set again. From that point three more ties would occur before MHU took two straight points with the match locked at 23-all.
Set two mirrored the first with the Wolves once again jumping out to a quick lead. However, Mars Hill, with the score at 10-5, made another run (6-0) to take its first lead at 11-10. The Lions would lead by as many as three at 19-16, but could not hold the lead, eventually falling in the set 25-21.
A very competitive third set saw the score run all the way to 23-all before Newberry took the next two points to earn the set and a 2-1 match lead. Trying to force a decisive fifth set, Mars Hill took an early advantage at 12-8. A 6-2 spurt by the Wolves evened the set at 14-14 and from there the two teams traded the next four points to run the score to 16-all. Newberry used another 6-2 run to comfortably sit ahead 22-18. The Lions cut the deficit to 22-20, but the gap was too wide as they dropped the fourth set, 25-21 and the match, 3-1.
Lauren Hochstetler led the Lions with 12 kills to go along with 15 digs, while Rebecca Butler and Mary Kate Griffin chipped in 10 each. Griffin tallied 16 digs and libero Victoria Kaiser garnered a team-high 18 digs. Andie Russell and Sara Fahrenbrook combined for 45 assists.
Mars Hill will be back in action tomorrow, playing its final home game of the season, hosting Anderson at 2 p.m. Before the contest the Lions will honor their three seniors for contributions made to the program.
