WISE – The Cavaliers fell in a hard-fought battle to Newberry College Friday night, 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23).
UVa-Wise (1-25, 0-21 SAC) jumped out to a 10-5 lead to start the first set as the Wolves called a timeout. Newberry (7-19, 5-16 SAC) gained a small advantage late, 19-16, as UVa-Wise took its first timeout of the set. Redshirt senior Ciara Kain came out of the break with a kill and service ace to cut Newberry's advantage to just one point, 19-18. The two teams kept it close but the Wolves outlasted the Cavs, 25-21, for a 1-0 lead.
The Cavaliers started hot once more in the second set with an 8-3 lead over Newberry early following a 5-0 run for UVa-Wise. The Wolves responded winning four straight points, but UVa-Wise maintained the advantage, going up 11-7 on a kill by senior Morgan Milligan. Newberry cut the Cavs lead to one point, but another run for the Cavs pushed them to a 16-10 advantage. UVa-Wise went on to tie the match with a double-digit second set victory, 25-15.
Newberry opened the third set winning the first seven points as the team took a 13-5 lead later in the set into a Cavalier timeout. Down by as much as 10, UVa-Wise slowly chipped away at Newberry's lead as the Cavs managed to cut the deficit to four points, 22-18, later in the set. The Wolves eventually took the third set, 25-19, for a 2-1 lead into the final frame.
UVa-Wise trailed to start the fourth set as Newberry held a 10-5 lead. The Cavs used a 4-0 run to get within two points, 12-10, on a kill by freshman Meagan Blagg. Five straight points for the Wolves extended Newberry's advantage later on as the team went up 18-12 over the Cavs. UVa-Wise would get within two points several times later in the set, with back-to-back Cavalier kills putting UVa-Wise down by just one point late, 24-23, but a Newberry kill secured the fourth set win as the Wolves took the frame, 25-23, for a 3-1 road win.
Kain led the Cavs with 10 kills and added two service aces on the night. Sophomores Matelyn Gibson and Kelsey Green each finished with seven kills while Green also posted a team-high four service aces and 17 digs. Junior Abigail Byington and Blagg recorded a pair of blocks each in the loss while senior Briana Kerr notched a team-high 18 digs. Fellow senior Morgan Milligan tallied 29 assists alongside 17 digs against Newberry.
Head coach Kristen Salyer's team will return to the Prior Center for the final match of the regular season against Anderson University at 2 p.m. Saturday. Senior day festivities will be held prior to the start of the match as the team recognizes Ciara Kain, Briana Kerr, and Morgan Milligan.
