Hanna Matthews had 77 assists in the two road matches this weekend for the Lady Flames.
photo by Lee Athletic Communications
JACKSON, Tenn. - Perhaps the most improved team in the Gulf South Conference, the Union Bulldogs swept the Lee volleyball team on Saturday afternoon (25-21, 25-21, 25-19).
The loss drops the Lady Flames to 8-10 overall and 1-5 in the GSC while the upstart Union club improves to 11-8 and 4-3 in league play.
Bailey Kress (13) and Abby Stroh (12) tallied double-digit kills to pace the Lee offense.
Hanna Matthews pitched in 33 assists and 10 digs while Micaela McMichen added a pair of aces.
Emily Grace Calhoon led the Bulldogs with 14 slams while Meghan Delaney registered 12 with three aces off her powerful serve.
Both teams tallied 44 kills but Union held a big advantage in the middle with 10 blocks while the Lady Flames managed just one. Laura Rose Gray had five blocks while Delaney went up for three.
Union played a clean match with just five errors in 101 total attacks for a .386 hitting percentage. The Lady Flames were guilty of 19 mistakes on 117 attacks to hit .214.
After two competitive sets that saw Union claim 25-21 victories, the Bulldogs sealed the sweep with a convincing 25-19 win in third thanks to a sizzling .524 hitting percentage with 12 kills and one error and a defensive effort that surrendered just nine kills to the Lady Flames
The Lady Flames will look to get back into the win column on Tuesday night as they return home to the Sport Court in Walker Arena to welcome in rival Shorter University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
FRIDAY – LEE 3 CBU 1
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After dropping the first set the Lee volleyball won the three straight to sink the Christian Brothers Lady Bucs, 3-1 from Canale Arena on Friday night.
The Lady Flames were led by 19 kills, 12 digs and three aces from freshman Abby Stroh. Bailey Kress added 16 kills and Hanna Matthews set the offense in motion with 44 assists.
The opening set was a nightmare start for the Lady Flames who posted a -0.059 hitting percentage with nine errors and seven kills in losing 25-15. The Lady Flames bounced back in a big way in set two with 13 kills and just two errors to post a sizzling .355 hitting percentage to claim a 25-17 win.
Set three was a back and forth battle as Lee outlasted Christian Brothers, 30-28. The Lady Flames held a 24-22 set point advantage before giving up three straight points to the home team and facing a set point of their own. Lee responded with an Abby Stroh kill and would eventually put the set away with a Bailey Kress kill and a Stroh service ace.
The Lady Flames closed the match out with a 25-20 win in set four. For the match Lee hit .231 while the Lady Bucs posted a .226 hitting mark.
Miaya Smith led the Lady Bucs with 15 kills while Emma Lenoir added 10. Alyana Maslinski posted 37 assists in the loss.