After weeks of waiting the Lee volleyball team gave a vibrant home crowd something to cheer about as it topped Auburn Montgomery, 3-1 on Tuesday evening from Walker Arena.

Once again it was Silvia Sartori leading the charge for the Lady Flames as she slammed home a match-high 17 kills. The junior added four service aces in the contest and got the crowd on its feet on several occasions with pummeling kills.
Freshman Bailey Kress continued her solid play of late as she had 10 kills in the contest. Alex Reuter added nine slams on a .316 hitting percentage while senior Brooke Wilsman came off the bench for eight big kills and seven digs.

Silvia is a seasoned player and I expect a lot out of her and I push her really hard and she has responded really well and we have really been riding her this season," said head coach Andrea Hudson. "Bailey has been a pleasant surprise and she just works very hard to put up a lot of different shots and I've just been really impressed with her."

Sadie Johnson and Kristi Farley teamed up at the setter position and combined for 52 assists. Johnson recorded 27 to go along with seven digs and two aces while Farley 25 helpers, a pair of kills and nine digs.

The Lady Flames broke away from the pesky Warhawks in set one and to claim a 25-20 victory. The Alabama club responded in set two and edged Lee, 25-23 to tie things up before the Lady Flames regained their footing to win sets three and four with ease (25-17, 25-12).

I thought we started out strong but we had a little moment there the second and early part of third set when we let some things get away," noted Hudson. "I think we were playing a little nervous with a big home crowd but the last set was really how we've been playing most of the year."

Brianna Garvin paced the offensive effort for AUM with 13 kills and also made her presence felt on defense with a match-high six blocks. Keala Roberts added seven and had 14 digs. Carly Smart got the offense going with 26 assists.

As a team the Lady Flames compiled a .256 attack percentage while limiting Auburn Montgomery to just .101. Lee put the clamps down defensively in the third (.031) and fourth sets (-.033) in particular.

Lee improves to 8-3 on the season and is now an even 2-2 in the GSC. The first-year program, Warhawks fall to 7-7 and are 1-3 in league play.

The victory marked the 799th win of coach Hudson's 27-year career as the Lee volleyball coach. When asked about going for milestone victory No. 800 she remarked, "It's exciting because those numbers just remind me of the great players I've had on our teams over the years and it's really a tribute to all of them. I hope we get the win this weekend and I look forward to celebrating with the girls."

The home stand will continue this weekend for the Lady Flames as they host a pair of GSC contests on the sport court. West Alabama rolls into town on Friday at 6 p.m. for what always proves to be an evenly contested battle. On Saturday Lee will tangle with Mississippi College at 1 p.m.