SAINT LEO, FL – The UVA Wise Volleyball team moved to 5-3 on the season as they split on the final day of the Saint Leo Lions Fall Volleyball Classic.
They lost to St. Edward's 3-0 in the early morning matchup before rallying to hold off a determined Saint Leo team by a 3-2 margin in the afternoon match.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Match One: St. Edward's 3, UVA Wise 0
Final Match Two: UVA Wise 3, Saint Leo 2
Records: UVA Wise (5-3); St. Edward's (6-2); Saint Leo (3-4)
Location: Saint Leo, FL | Marion Bowman Activities Center
VS. ST. EDWARDS
- The Hilltoppers grabbed the 3-0 lead in the first set and held off all comeback attempts by the Highland Cavaliers. UVA Wise was able to cut it to 21-18 but SEU closed the set on a 3-0 run to claim the 25-18 victory.
- The second set had several ties and a few lead changes before the Cavs grabbed several points off of serves by
Hannah McAmis that resulted in Hilltopper attack errors. SEU tied things up at 22-22 and again at 24-24 before two kills by SEU's Katherine Neille put the Hilltoppers on top 26-24.
- The Hilltoppers then slowly built a lead in the third set and took the frame by a 25-18 margin.
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Kaylee Scarce led the Cavs with seven kills and 15 digs.
Serina Petersen chipped in five kills while Abigal Curtis (11 digs),
Piper Suddeth (nine digs), and McAmis (8 digs) all made strong contributions.
Cassidy Farley had a strong blocking effort with seven total blocks.
- Mia Clay (15 kills) and Neille (11 kills) led SEU offensively, while Jordan Chapman (13 digs, 16 assists) and Jazzy Williams (10 digs) led on the defensive end.
VS. SAINT LEO
- The hosts came out on fire in the first set, rolling out to a 9-4 lead. The Cavs then methodically chipped away at it, tying the set three times before they scored four straight points off of serves by Petersen to pull ahead late in the set. The Lions cut the lead to 24-23, but then lost the set on an attack error by Brielle Kallberg.
- The Cavs and Lions traded points throughout the second set before pulling away late for the 25-18 win.
- In the third set, it was the Lions' turn to grab a lead midway through the set and never relinquish it as they picked up the 25-22 set victory.
- The Cavs would attempt to put the match away in the fourth set and took a 20-17 lead, but the Lions roared back to tie the set at 22-22. The lead then see-sawed before a Kallberg kill and a Cavalier attack error tied the match up at 2-2 as the Lions eked out the 28-26 win.
- The fifth set was all UVA Wise as the Cavs never trailed. They exploded out to a 7-2 early lead and kept the pressure on the Lions before a block by Persinger and Farley ended the set and the match as the Cavs won the fifth set 15-8 and the match by a 3-2 margin.
- Scarce picked up the double-double, her first of the season, with her 13 kills and 17 digs.
Riley Brandon chipped in 11 kills. Five Cavs had double-digit digs, led by
Abigail Curtis' 26 digs.
Lily Gutierrez and Suddeth each had a double double with Gutierrez having 14 assists and a career high 14 digs. Suddeth added in a team-high 20 assists and 12 digs.
Three Lion players had double doubles; Tajma Muharemovic (39 assists, 18 digs), Paula Perez Rosales (19 kills, 15 digs), and Madison Moore (10 kills, 10 digs).
GETTING WISE
- Scarce leads the Cavs with a 3.07 kills per set average and 83 kills, while Brandon has 60 kills and a 2.31 average.
- Suddeth's 115 assists (4.26 assists per set) lead the team. Gutierrez is second with 103 assists, for a 3.81 average.
- Curtis has 129 digs for a 4.78 per set average. She is among the leaders in the South Atlantic Conference.
- Farley has 29 blocks (1.12 blocks per set), while Persinger and Petersen have 19 blocks (0.70 bps) apiece.
UP NEXT
UVA Wise opens up South Atlantic Conference play as they travel to Limestone for a meeting with the Saints on September 20 at 7 p.m. They will then travel to Wingate for another SAC match on Sept. 24 before returning home to the Quillen Court at the David J. Prior Convocation Center on Sept. 27, when they host Coker at 6:00 p.m.
