JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- In the process of capturing the first victory of the season in four games over Providence College, the Presbyterian College volleyball team won the first contest in Blue Hose athletic history since the move to the NCAA Division I ranks by margins of 30-24, 30-20, 21-30 and 30-27 over the Friars.

Presbyterian College (1-4) answered a game three loss by coming out sharp in the fourth game, jumping out to the early 2-0 lead. Trailing by a game-high five points at 9-4, the Blue Hose countered with a run behind two kills by Justine Lanchester, including support of her while serving to knot the game at 18-18. After runs by both teams, that tied the game for the last tiime at 25-25, Lauren Mason stepped up with a critical kill to give the Blue Hose a lead they would not relinquish. Mason turned to her service game, forcing back-to-back attack errors, helping Presbyterian to close out the game 30-27.

A host of Blue Hose players, led behind Mason's 21 kills and six digs, led the team to victory. Kelsey McKee chipped in 10 kills, while Rachel Lewis and Elizabeth Heineman added 11 digs each. In the frontcourt, Amanda Kettles (nine kills) and Lanchester (eight kills) gave head coach Chris Belshe his first win of the season.

“This is a good team that is learning how to win,” Belshe said. “Tonight we did a good job of coming together for a complete match and in the process learned to find success in critical situations.”

In the second game of the afternoon, Presbyterian came out with its strongest game of the season. After tying a game-high eight point advantage at 22-14, the Blue Hose closed out the Friars behind two kills by McKee and points from three others to earn the 30-24 win.

The Blue Hose continued their dominance in game two, accruing a 13-point lead on two occasions, the latter coming with a 24-11 lead. After allowing three straight points by the Friars which narrowed the lead to 26-17, Presbyterian took advantage of kills by McKee and Lewis and the game clincher by Amanda Kettles for the 30-20 victory.  

Presbyterian vs. Providence Post-game Notes

• Presbyterian won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

• As a team the Blue Hose accounted for 55 kills and 51 digs in the victory.

• Lauren Mason, along with 21 kills, added two critical serving aces in the fourth game to close out the win.

                       1   2    3    4

Providence   24 20 30 27

Presbyterian 30 30 21 30

PC-Providence Box Score