RADFORD, Va. - The
Presbyterian College volleyball team used a total team effort to stop a losing
streak Friday night as the squad downed Radford 3-1 by scores of 25-16, 23-25,
25-18, 25-14.
The Blue Hose improve to 8-14 overall and 3-5 in Big South Conference play. The
Highlanders fall to 11-13 overall and 1-7 against conference competition.
Head coach Chris Belshe's team combined to hit .316 on the night, burying the
ball for 49 kills against just 13 errors in 114 attempts.
PC was able to distribute the ball well on offense with redshirt-junior Kilee
Ruppe dishing out a match-high 40 assists on 87 attempts for a .460 average.
On the other end of half of Ruppe's passes was junior Lisa Shelley, who notched
a match-best 20 kills against just four errors. Junior Amanda Kettles slammed
home 12 kills versus just two errors for a .500 average.
Rookie Presley Mabrey narrowly missed double figures in kills, but was
extremely efficient, recording nine kills against one error in 20 attacks.
Ruppe had a good all-around effort, tallying a double-double with 10 digs. She
added a service ace for good measure.
Defensively,
junior Elizabeth Heineman accounted for a match-high 17 digs. Alesia Paul came
off the bench to record 11 digs, one assist and a service ace.
The team's
overall defense was spectacular off the serve/receive, amassing a .921
receiving percentage, having just five miscues all night long. Freshman Allison
Brown was in on three block assists for PC.
The Blue
Hose started out strong, accounting for an attack percentage of .480 in the first frame. The team combined
for 13 kills versus just one error in the 25-16 win.
After
falling behind2-0, PC responded with a kill from Mabrey, a Radford attack error
and an ace by Paul for a 3-2 lead. Up by just one, 9-8, an error gave PC the
ball back. Heineman promptly recorded an ace and Kettles followed up with a
kill for a 12-8 advantage.
The three points sparked a 10-3 run by the Blue Hose, which was capped off when
Kettles' ace sliced through the entire team for a 19-11 advantage.
The Blue Hose would then out-score the opposition by one the rest of the way,
securing the win.
In the second set, PC struggled to find the court, committing six errors in 36
attempts in the two-point loss.
The Blue Hose fell behind 7-3, but knotted the score at 16 apiece when
Shelley's kill found the court. After a Highlander timeout, Ashley Dunlap's
service error gave the ball back to Radford,. PC would tie the score at 20 and
then followed it up with back-to-back points on a kill from Mabrey and a block
by Kettles and Haley Thurmond. However, the home squad went on a 4-0 run to
take a two-point lead. Mabrey's kill was not enough as Carly Fleming's kill
ended the set. With the victory, the teams went into intermission tied.
The talk at intermission seemed to work as the team rebounded in the last two
sets, hitting .323 and .364, respectively. The team pulled away in each set,
winning 25-18 and 25-14.
Radford
started out hot again in the third set, going ahead 3-1. However, PC tied the
contest at 5-5 and took the lead for good on Shelley's ace. The Blue Hose
widened their lead to six, 16-10, off a service error. The Highlanders
committed numerous attack errors in the set, allowing Belsh'es team to take the
25-18 win.
An early
lead by Radford did not last long as PC embarked on a 9-2 run, taking a 9-3
lead in the fourth set. The entire team got into the scoring attack as Shelley
had a few kills while Brown delivered a kill as well.
The squad widened its advantage to 10 after back-to-back attack errors, making
the score 21-11. The teams traded points
until an attack error gave PC the 25-14 victory.
The Blue
Hose will step out of conference with a 7 p.m., match Wednesday at the Templeton Center against Furman.
