After dropping an opening round match to Bethel College (Ind.) on Friday, the Lee volleyball team rebounded in style and closed out its invitational with three straight victories.
The Lady Flames opened with a 3-1 victory over Coastal Georgia on Saturday and turned right around and handed the Bryan Lions a 3-0 defeat (29-27, 25-20 25-17). Coach Andrea Hudson got a mixed combination of upper classmen and newcomer play.
In the 3-0 win over Bryan, Paula Martins completed her outstanding play over the past two days by drilling 14 kills, producing three aces and walking away with 10 digs.
It was her third straight double-double in four games.
Junior Lauren Williams had one of her career best performances with 13 kills and a 57 percent attack mark. She finished off the day with three digs. Another junior, Patty Orozco had a solid tournament and contributed 10 kills. Newcomer Erin Hill added nine kills and a service ace to go along with her seven digs.
In the backcourt, Camil
Martinez dished off 39 assists and collected eight digs, while senior Libby Peigen
totaled 14 digs. For the day, the Lady Flames had a solid .305 attack percentage and came away with six aces.
Bryan College got 10 kills from Kara Stamper. Carolyn Evans tallied nine kills and a .500 attack mark. She joined Rebecca Stroup with their team's only aces. Taylor Fink had 33 assists and Corrie
Walker added 18 digs to the losing total.
It was the first loss of the year for the Lions, while the Lady Flames will have several days to work on their game before entering Gulf South Conference play against West Alabama on September 20.
Lee 3, Coastal Georgia 1
A quick timeout and some major adjustments enabled the Lee volleyball team to come back and post a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 21-25, 21-25) victory over College of Coastal Georgia in the second day of play in the annual Lee Invitational.
The Lady Flames dropped the first set to the visitors from Brunswick, Ga. 25-20 and were down 22-18 in the second set when coach Andrea Hudson ordered a timeout. Whatever adjustment Hudson and her staff made during the break worked as Lee responded with seven straight points and grabbed victory away from a possible defeat.
The second-set win seemed to calm the young Lady Flames and they claimed a 25-21 decision in the final two sets.
Again it was Martins stepping up to lead the way. She had a double-double, 17 kills, 12 digs and seven key blocks. With starter Latrice
Johnson on the sidelines with a foot injury, Orozo
(12 kills), Hill (14 kills and eight digs) and Williams (five kills) picked up their game to give Martins plenty of help up front.
Martinez had her usual 41 assists and eight digs. Peigen
posted 22 digs and Sarah Davis countered with 14 digs.
"We had to adjust with Latrice
out of the line-up," noted assistant coach Kevin Hudson. "I like the way our younger players are stepping up. They did a good job today."
For Coastal, Kara Nelsen had 14 kills and Allie Shannon came away with 11. Cayley
Meiners
tallied 35 assists and 10 digs. Maggie Bee was the dig leader with 22 and Holly Hammer lived up to her name with nine kills and 11 digs..