WISE – To paraphrase the old Davy Crockett Theme Song, UVA Wise beat them a "bar" and it only took three as the Highland Cavaliers handed Coach
Alexis Ivey a signature win against her alma mater by defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 3-0 on Friday, winning 25-12, 28-26, 25-23 on the Quillen Court.
The Cavaliers hit .207 and totaled 13 blocks while holding the Bears to an .082 hitting percentage.
The win was the first-ever by UVA Wise over the Bears, who came into the evening leading the all-time series 12-0 dating back to 1992, including nine straight since UVA Wise joined the SAC in 2019. It also comes on the heels of a very hard-fought match against L-R on Sept. 4 in which the Bears won the first two sets by a combined four points.
More importantly, it moves the Cavs to 4-2 at home this year and 5-5 in the South Atlantic Conference, where they are tied with Catawba for seventh place. UVA Wise and Catawba face off tomorrow at 2 p.m.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 3, Catawba 0
Records: UVA Wise (7-7, 5-5 SAC); Lenoir-Rhyne (9-5, 7-3 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | David J. Prior Convocation Center (Quillen Court)
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Cavaliers broke open the first set early, turning a 2-1 edge into a 6-1 lead with
Skye Williams at the service line as
Mia Bradley put down a kill and
Mable James and
Maggy Sechrist combined on a block. L-R traded points through the middle of the set, but kills from
Mable James, Sechrist,
Braelynn Williams and
Skye Williams helped the Cavs move to 13-6, and
Riley Brandon's serve pushed the lead to 17-6 with an ace, a James kill and two L-R attack errors. After the Bears closed to 17-8, a
Skye Williams-
Mable James block made it 18-8, and the Cavaliers later used
Olivia Amos' serving turn to reach 23-10 on a Sechrist kill, a Bears error and a Brandon kill. The Bears scored twice from there, but a service error made it 24-12 before Brandon closed the 25-12 set with a kill from
Abigail Curtis. The twelve points are the fewest in a set by Lenoir-Rhyne this season
Second Set
The Bears started the second set by moving ahead 5-1 and later pushed the margin to 14-9 on consecutive kills. The Highland Cavaliers worked back behind four straight points that included three
Skye Williams kills and a
Mable James block, and after L-R went back up 15-13, Williams added two more kills as the Cavs moved in front 17-15. The set stayed tight from there, with the Bears tying it at 17-17 and 19-19 before taking a 22-20 lead, but the Cavaliers pulled even at 22-22 on a service error and a
Braelynn Williams/
Riley Brandon block. After Lenoir-Rhyne reached set point at 24-23 and later led 26-25, the Cavs answered with a James kill, went ahead on an attack error and closed the set 28-26 on a bad set.
Third Set
After the Bears moved ahead 5-2, the Cavaliers pulled even at 6-6 on kills by Sechrist and
Mia Bradley and an Amos service ace. Amos has registered at least 31 assists in the last two matches. Lenoir-Rhyne went back in front 9-6 and later pushed the margin to 20-17 on a kill by Averie Dale. The Highland Cavaliers answered with four straight points, using a
Mable James block, an attack error and consecutive
Skye Williams kills from Amos to move ahead 21-20, then went back in front 22-21 on a block by Amos and James after Dale tied it. The set was tied again at 22-22 before the Cavs got another James-Amos block and a Sechrist kill for set point, and an attack error by the Bears closed the 25-23 win.
GETTING WISE
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Skye Williams had a team-high 15 kills on .424 hitting and notched a double-double as she also had 16 digs. She also had a team-high 17.5 points in addition to three blocks.
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Abigail Curtis had a match-high 24 digs to go along with four assists.
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Olivia Amos had a match-high 31 assists in addition to two blocks and an ace.
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Mable James had another career night, this time with ten blocks, including three solo, and six kills for a total of 12.5 points. The last player with ten or more blocks in a match was Cassidy Farley, who had 12 on three occasions (2021, 2023 and 2024) and 11 on another occasion in 2024. UVA Wise Hall-of-Famer Natasha Viers had the school record of 17 against Covenant on Sept. 15, 2007 and also had 16 against Southern Texas earlier that season. Mikaela Anders had 16 vs. Virginia Intermont on Oct. 30, 2010.
- This was the first win by Head Coach
Alexis Ivey over Lenoir-Rhyne, where she played from 2016-2020. Tonight marked the third time she had faced her former team.
- The 13.0 team blocks against Lenoir-Rhyne were a season high.
UP NEXT
The Highland Cavaliers host Catawba on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. Catawba defeated Emory & Henry 3-1 earlier tonight.
