Fighting off a letdown after a big win over rival The University of Alabama in Huntsville, the Lee volleyball team got off to a slow start against host Young Harris College on Wednesday afternoon, then rebounded to post a 3-2, five-set victory. The non-conference win improved Lee’s record to 10-6 overall while the Mountain Lions fell to 6-7.
The road warriors (Lady Flames) have played 16 matches and 13 have been away from home. Seven of the last nine contests have gone four or five sets and three of the last four have gone five sets but Coach Christa Fabre’s team showed no signs of that in outlasting the Mountain Lions.
The set totals read 19-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 15-8.
Young Harris led 9-3 and 15-10 before Coach Fabre regrouped her club and they mounted a late comeback in the first set. The comeback seemed to spark the Lady Flames in the 19-25 loss. The rugged second set was tied eight times before Lee finally tied the contest at 20 and then was able to put the set away (25-21) on a kill by Macy Petty.
The Mountain Lions fought off a Lady Flame attack in a third set that went back and forth. Lee led at one point 21-20 before Young Harris tied it at 22 and gained a 24-22 lead. Coach Fabre ordered another timeout, but the Mountain Lions moved up 2-1 in sets with the 25-23 win.
The Lady Flames took total control in the fourth set and seemed to tire home-standing Mountain Lions. Lee walked away with a convincing 25-15 fourth set win and continued to the victory in winning the short-set 15-8.
Abby Stroh had a triple-double in pacing the Lee victory. The postgraduate finished with a career high 22 kills and a .375 attack percentage. She also had 27 receptions and 12 digs. Julia Davis had a double-double with 24 receptions, 16 digs and eight kills. Petty had six kills, two aces and two blocks. Allie Scurlock followed with six kills and two blocks. Naomi Hockless pitched in with five kills and two blocks and Carmen Perez also added five blocks.
All totaled, Lee had seven service aces. Kamryn Halpin had two aces to go along with 12 digs while Ashton Middleton had a double-double, 35 assists and 17 digs. Seven different Lady Flames contributed 50 assists and 10 different Lee players came up with digs. The stats show it was a total team effort.
The Mountain Lions’ Nicole Klucharich had 13 kills. Lily Hidalgo also had 13 kills while Lyza Thigpen dished off 26 assists, had three services aces and 11 digs.
The Lady Flames will get a needed break from GSC action on Thursday and will return to Walker Arena on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. and host Shorter University.
Coach Christa Fabre’s thoughts:
“It was definitely a tough turnaround after a big win last night. We had to come to Young Harris and play in the middle of the afternoon.
“This team keeps finding ways to pull through and come out on top. This match helped us to realize we have to come out prepared and ready to take care of business regardless of the situation or what team is lined up across the net.
“Abby had a great match (22 kills) and a solid serve receive. Allie’s blocking was crucial in defending their outsides. It was an all-around good finish for our team.”