MARS HILL, N.C. – Volleyball put up a fight in a road loss to Mars Hill University Saturday afternoon, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-16).

After trailing to open the match, UVa-Wise (1-19, 0-15 SAC) won four-straight points to tie the set early. The two teams continued to battle for the lead with back-to-back kills by sophomore Kelsey Green pushing the Cavs to a three-point advantage, 10-7. Tied at 19-19, the Lions managed to take a two-point lead as the Cavs called a timeout. UVa-Wise would not be able to comeback as the Cavs dropped the first set, 25-22.

Mars Hill (12-10, 9-6 SAC) capitalized on several Cavalier errors as the Lions pulled ahead 8-4 in the second frame. The Lions took a double-digit lead, 19-9, but the Cavs used a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits. Another four-straight points for UVa-Wise forced Mars Hill to take a timeout as the Cavs continued to trail, 21-17. The Lions took the last three points to win the set, 25-19.

A fast start to begin the third set put Mars Hill on top of the Cavs 16-4. TUVa-Wise came from behind to trail by just six points late, 21-15, but the Lions went on to take the set, 25-16, for a 3-0 win over the Cavs.

Green posted a match and career-high 14 kills with a .321 attack percentage. Redshirt senior Ciara Kain added eight kills while sophomore Matelyn Gibson posted seven kills. Freshman Zoe Avery dished out a match-high 26 assists and added two service aces. Gibson, Avery, and Kain each tallied 13 digs in the loss while senior Morgan Milligan led the Cavs with 16 digs.

Head coach Kristen Salyer's team will stay on the road for a 6:30 p.m. non-conference match at Concord Tuesday night before the team returns home for a Friday night match against Carson-Newman set for 7 p.m. inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.