The Lee University volleyball team used the strong play of freshman Payton Danley and junior Carmen Perez to help post a key GSC victory over University of Montevallo at the Central State Bank Arena on Friday evening.
Lee took four sets in posting the 3-1 win (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21). The Falcons certainly did not go away without a fight. In the third set, the Lady Flames were coasting with a 19-10 lead. After a timeout, Montevallo stunned
Lee by scoring 10 straight points and moved on top 20-19.
Coach Christa Fabre order a timeout and regrouped her team. Aided by a pair of service errors by the Falcons, the Lady Flames finally put the set away.
It was almost the same story in set four. Lee jumped to another big lead only to see the Falcons come flying back, but this time Coach Fabre and her staff had earlier answers and put the rally to rest. It marked the fifth victory in the last six starts for the surging Lady Flames as they improved to 8-4 in league play and 14-10 overall. Host Montevallo dropped to 6-6 and 9-13. The win pushed Lee into fourth place in the conference standings, one-half game ahead of Valdosta State. The Blazers swept a double-header from Union on Friday.
The Lady Flames face another tough road assignment on Saturday afternoon as they move over to Huntsville and face UAH in a contest which is slated for 3 p.m. The Chargers are currently in second place in the GSC standings and hold an earlier victory over Lee.
Danley blasted 15 kills and recorded a remarkable .522 hitting percentage. Perez, who had been troubled with leg problems, seemed well enough to also rack up 15 slams and record a double-double with 10 digs.
Berra Soyler had 34 assists and Izzy Denton went to the deck to lead Lee with 18 digs. Sara Palumbo chipped in with nine kills while Naomi Hockless registered eight kills. Brynna Sands was Lee’s leading blocker with three.
The Falcons got strong play from Nikol Antova who had 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage. Claire Hayes had 13 kills but an even better .462 hitting mark. Blakeley Robbins dished off 89 assists in setting her teammates up. Lee held Montevallo to only 12 blocks for the game.
Coach Christa Fabre’s thoughts:
“Good win for our team. We were really efficient at the net against a strong blocking team. We were able to get them out of system enough to keep their middles from being too active and stayed aggressive on our side.
Getting a win against them on the road is big time. Back at it tomorrow against another strong opponent!”