HARROGATE, TN – After falling behind two sets, the UVA Wise volleyball team rallied back to take the third set and fell short in forcing a fifth set as they fell to Lincoln Memorial 3-1 Tuesday evening.
The loss to LMU and a win by Limestone pretty much ends any chance of a bid to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament as Limestone and UVA Wise split in the regular season, and Limestone has the tiebreaker via their win over Anderson or their win over Carson-Newman (depending on which of those teams ends up as the higher seed.) The official conference release announcing the bracket and final regular season standings will be released after the final regular season matches Saturday evening.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 1, LMU 3
Records: UVA Wise (11-15, 5-12 SAC); LMU (16-8, 10-7 SAC)
Location: Harrogate, TN | Mary E. Mars Gymnasium
HOW IT HAPPENED
- LMU built up a small cushion and held off the Cavs until they tied the set at 7-7 via a
Cassidy Farley kill. The set was tied at 9-9 and 10-10 before the Railsplitters scored four quick points. From that point on the Cavs made repeated comeback efforts but LMU held on for the 25-18 win.
- The second set had nine ties and six lead changes. The final tie came at 14-14 before LMU went on a 6-1 run. UVA Wise cut the lead to 24-20 on a
Riley Brandon kill, but a block on a Cavalier attack ended the set and LMU won 25-20.
- The teams traded points to open the third set until a
Dannah Persinger kill sparked a Highland Cavalier run. UVA Wise extended the lead out to six points and were never seriously threatened for the rest of the set as they went on to win 25-23.
- The fourth set was like a nine-round prize fight as there were 18 ties and 10 lead changes. The largest lead for either team was two points. Down the stretch the cycle repeated itself several times of LMU getting the one point lead and UVA Wise tying it up. In the end it was LMU taking the 26-24 set win and the match.
- LMU was led by Kristen Moehring's 18 kills and 11 digs. Abigail Kessler had 11 kills, and Agata Bogdanska added in 10 kills.
- Lauren Jacob led all players with 25 digs.
GETTING WISE
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Kaylee Scarce (19 kills, 18 digs) led the team both offensively and defensively.
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Abigail Curtis added in 16 digs, while
Lily Gutierrez (13 assists, 11 digs) had her sixth double-double of the season and ninth of her UVA Wise career.
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Piper Suddeth had 24 assists to lead the team.
UP NEXT
The Highland Cavaliers close out the 2024 regular season at Catawba Friday evening at 7 p.m.
