Cheyanne James used 17 kills to lead the Radford Highlanders to the five set, 3-2 win (25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14) over the Presbyterian College volleyball team in action tonight at Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
PC falls to 7-17 overall and 5-4 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 18-18, 7-2. The Blue Hose step out of conference play this week as they travel to USC Upstate Tuesday, Oct. 29 for a 7 p.m. match.
Following James and her 17 kills for Radford were Emma Deininger with 13, Rachel Wiedecki with 12 and Jesse Miedema with 11. Pacing the team in assists was Jena Braden with 40, and in digs was Wiechecki with 16.
Rachel Hall led PC with a career-high tying 18 kills. Kelly Berryman recorded 11 kills, with Halle Tripp and Andrea Barman following with 10 apiece. Ashtin Frank ended the night with 48 assists, with Mary Trimpe coming away with 32 digs.
Radford held the 15-7 advantage in blocks with Deininger leading the way with two solo blocks and six block assists.
PC recorded 64 kills for a .156 hitting percentage, while the Highlanders had 59 kills and a .226 percentage.
Although Radford held the lead the entire first set, it wasn't by more than four points at any given time, with the Blue Hose clawing to within one or two on several occasions. Trailing 14-10, PC used a 5-2 run, off two kills from Hall and a kills from Barman and Berryman, to cut the margin to just one at 16-15.
Leading 17-16, Radford extended its lead back to four, 20-16, after multiple kills from James.
PC scored two straight to make it 20-18 and held the two-point margin again at 22-20 and again at 23-21, but a PC attack error and a kill by Wiechecki made it a four-point set again at 25-21.
Radford exploded out to a 6-1 lead in the second set before the Blue Hose used a 10-1 run, capitalizing on seven kills including back to back from Berryman, to take their first lead of the match at 11-7.
The Highlanders scored five of the next six points to retake the 13-12 lead. PC responded with another run, this one going 7-1 off a kill land block from Barman and two kills from Hall, to go up by five, 19-14.
Radford came back to make it a two-point contest at 23-21 off a 6-2 swing. A kill from Hall and a block from Hall and Berryman ended the run as PC took the 25-21 set two win.
PC took an 8-4 lead early in the third set and held on as Radford cut the margin to one, 10-9, off a Deininger kill. The Blue Hose went back up by four, 14-10, off three kills, and increased the margin to five at 18-15 off back to back kills from Hall.
Two PC attack errors and a kill by Wiechecki made it a two-point game at 18-16, before Berryman and Lena Gavin's kills made it 20-16.
The Blue Hose picked up set point off a Tripp kill at 24-19, but Radford rattled off two to make it 24-21. A Highlander service error ended the rally as PC came away with the 25-21 win.
Presbyterian College opened set number four with multiple kills from Frank and a service ace from Barman to take a 4-1 lead early. Radford made it 5-3 but couldn't get any closer as the Blue Hose built a 10-6 lead.
A 3-1 run by Radford, in part to three PC errors, and the Highlanders found themselves trailing by just two at 11-9. RU continued its 5-0 run to tie the set at 11-11.
Tied again at 12-12, Berryman used a kill to give PC the 13-12 lead, before Radford came back with four straight to take a 16-13 lead. Hall ended the RU run with two straight kills to make it a one-point affair at 16-15.
Radford opened up a 22-18 lead, before a Barman and Tripp kill made it 22-20. The Highlanders fought to a 24-21 lead before PC rallied with two straight to make it a 24-23 contest. Deininger put a stop to PC with a kill, her 10th of the night, to give Radford the 24-23 set four win.
A back and forth battle early in the fifth set, the Blue Hose opened up 10-7 lead off a RU service error. The Highlanders cut the lead to one, 10-9, but a 3-1 run made it 13-10 in favor of the Blue Hose. The Highlanders fought back with four unanswered to go up 14-13. After a Hall kill made it 14-14, PC recorded back to back errors to give the Highlanders the 16-14 set and match win.
