MARS HILL, NC -- UVA Wise and Mars Hill slugged it out over five sets Friday evening, with the homestanding Lions outlasting the Highland Cavaliers 3-2. The Cavs won the first and third sets, but Mars Hill took the final two, with set scores of 25-12, 21-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 10-15.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 2, Mars Hill 3
Records: UVA Wise (13-11, 11-8 SAC); Mars Hill (14-13, 8-10 SAC)
Location: Mars Hill, NC | Stanford Arena
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- The Cavaliers won the opening set 25-12, scoring eight straight points after trailing 4-3 to move in front 11-4 and adding a six-point run later to reach 20-7.
- The Cavs held a 17-7 advantage in kills, led by five apiece from
Riley Brandon and
Mable James.
Maggy Sechrist and
Annabelle Dowell added three kills each.
- A seven-point service turn from 4-4 to 11-4 included three Highland Cavaliers aces, while
Olivia Amos had 10 assists and took part in both Cavaliers block points.
Second Set
- The Cavaliers held an 11-10 edge in kills, but Mars Hill had a 3-1 advantage in service aces and won the set 25-21.
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Riley Brandon,
Annabelle Dowell and
Skye Williams each had three kills for the Cavs, while Amos assisted on eight of the Cavaliers' 11 kills.
- The Highland Cavaliers answered an early 5-0 deficit with three straight points, including a Brandon kill, a Williams ace and a Brandon-Dowell block.
- The Cavaliers pulled within 22-21 on a Brandon-Dowell block before Mars Hill scored the final three points.
Third Set
- The Cavaliers won the third set 25-23, closing it on a Mars Hill service error after Mars Hill had pulled within 24-23.
- The Cavs moved from a 16-15 deficit to a 20-17 lead, with
Mia Poag contributing multiple kills during that stretch.
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Mable James led the Highland Cavaliers with five kills, Poag added four and Amos assisted on 12 of the team's 14 kills; Mars Hill finished with a 19-14 edge in kills but committed five service errors and five attack errors.
Fourth Set
- Mars Hill won the set 25-15, forcing the Cavaliers into a fifth set.
- The Cavs recorded nine kills, led by
Mia Poag with four, while Sechrist added two.
- Mars Hill finished with a 15-9 advantage in kills and served three aces in the set.
- The Cavaliers scored three of their first four points on Mars Hill attack errors with blocks credited to
Mable James,
Riley Brandon and Poag.
Fifth Set
- Mars Hill took the fifth set 15-10, with the Cavaliers recording eight kills, one service ace and one point on a Mars Hill service error.
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Mable James led the Cavs with three kills in the set,
Riley Brandon added two, and Amos finished with six assists.
- Mars Hill totaled nine kills and added two block points, while the Highland Cavaliers were charged with four attack errors and one bad set.
GETTING WISE
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Mable James finished with 14 kills, five total blocks and 17.5 points while hitting .520.
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Olivia Amos recorded 44 assists, 10 digs and three block assists.
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Abigail Curtis collected 20 digs and added seven assists and a service ace. She passed the 1,800 career dig mark during the match and becomes only the second UVA Wise student-athlete to pass that mark.
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Riley Brandon added 12 kills and two block assists.
UP NEXT
The Highland Cavaliers travel to Greeneville, Tennessee, to face Tusculum on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m.
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