CLINTON, S.C.-For the seventh time in as many matches, the Presbyterian College volleyball team swept their opponents off the court, this time with a 30-27, 30-23, 30-28 win over Big South Conference opponent UNC Asheville. The victories keep in tacked two streaks for the Blue Hose including a now 22-game winning streak as well as winning each of their last 12 consecutive matches.In the victory at the Templeton Center, Presbyterian moves to 12-4 overall, while the Bulldogs stand at 6-10.
PC (12-4) was balanced across the front row, as they have been all year, by a steady dose of Lauren Mason (18 kills, 14 digs), Kelsey McKee (11 kills) and Justine Lanchester (10 kills). In the back row, Elizabeth Heineman (15 digs) led the way, along with junior Rachel Lewis who chimed in with 10 digs and 44 assists which marks a five-match high.
The decisive game was knotted on four occasions, with Presbyterian jumping out to an 18-10 lead over the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville charged back at PC, putting together a run that would draw the score to as close as two points on four occasions during a five point run for each team, with the Blue Hose leading 29-27. After a service miscue for PC, Kelsey McKee drove home the match point kill for the 30-28 victory. McKee stepped up huge for the Blue Hose in the final game with four kills, while Lanchester (three) and Mason (six) paced the front row.
The turning point of the second match came with the Blue Hose trailing by a 15-11 margin. With Elizabeth Heineman serving, PC would score the next seven straight points to assume an 18-16 lead that it would not relinquish. Heineman forced four attack errors, along with grabbing kills by Mason and Lanchester, to give Presbyterian the lead. Three kills by Kettles in the final 12 PC points of the game closed out the 30-23 win.
The opening game of the contest was a back-and-forth battle that fell the way of PC in the closing stages. After 14 ties in the first 25 points of the match for each team, Mason drove a kill past the Bulldogs defense to give the Blue Hose a one-point advantage. Followed by an attack error by Ashley Wrightenberry and a kill by Sarah Parker Mounce, PC was on the verge of closing the door. A late service error closed the lead to two points, before Lanchester on a pass from Rachel Lewis, drove home the kill for the 30-27 victory.
Game 1 2 3
UNC Asheville 27 23 28
Presbyterian 30 30 30
Presbyterian College vs. UNC Asheville Post Game Notes
? By moving the match winning streak to 12, the '07 Blue Hose have now tied the 1997 squad for the third longest since 1997.
? The double-double kill/dig performance by Lauren Mason (18 kills, 14 digs) puts her with 15 double-digit kill games and 11 double-digit dig games in 2007.
? Rachel Lewis reached the plateau of 44 assists, marking a high over a five-match stretch which she recorded between 30-39 assists.
