Silvia Sartori and Hanna Matthews recorded double-doubles as the Lee volleyball team swept Alabama Huntsville 28-26, 25-21 and 25-19 on Tuesday night from Walker Arena to clinch a berth in the Gulf South Conference tournament.
Sartori tallied 21 kills and 14 digs while Matthews racked up 45 assists and 15 digs. Alex Reuter slammed home 16 points for the Lady Flames. Reuter and Mary Katherine Givhan played tough in the middle as they had 11 assisted blocks combined. Allie Koepfer led the Lee defense with 24 digs while libero Micaela McMichen recorded 21.
In the first set Lee jumped out to an 18-13 lead before UAH came storming back taking a 23-21 advantage and forcing Lee to take a timeout.
The Lady Flames tied things up at 24 all on a kill by Reuter to end a short 3-1 run. Coach Hudson’s squad then fought off three set points before gaining service on a kill by Matthews. The home team took a 27-26 lead on another Reuter kill before a Charger error gave the Lady Flames set one, 28-26.
“We were just really focused about staying calm and worrying about our side of the net instead of worrying about what they were doing,” said Reuter, a senior middle blocker.
Set two saw the hosts jump out to an early 6-1 lead forcing UAH to take an early timeout. The Chargers battled back to make it 19-18 before Lee responded with a 4-0 run to regain momentum at 22-19. Sartori would slam home set point from Collin Bowen to give the Lady Flames a commanding 2-0 match lead.
The third set saw Coach Hudson’s squad separate themselves with a 6-0 at 20-15 and never look back. Lee posted 18 kills and only three attacking errors in the third set hitting a sizzling .385 in the frame.
“The crossover has really helped us and energized us; getting us to a place where we believe in ourselves now. We are actually playing a little calmer on the court and not getting frustrated when teams get two or three points on us. UAH is a very good team and they have some very strong hitters. It was about being mentally tough tonight,” said the 28-year head coach Andrea Hudson.
Hudson continued, “There’s only so many things you can do in practice to take care of those things [mental toughness]. You have some drills that help you, but you don’t face the pressure until you get in the game. That’s where they have to grow as an individual. That’s what we have seen out of Silvia, Alex and Mary Katherine.”
Lee improved to 14-13 overall, but a strong 10-3 in the GSC and currently sit third in the conference standings. Alabama Huntsville falls to 19-9 overall and 7-5 in GSC play.
Up next, the Lady Flames step out of conference play for the annual Volley For A Cure match to support the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation. Lee will take on Kentucky State at 7 p.m. on Friday as they will also honor their seniors.