LIVINGSTON, Alabama – It was a night of firsts for Lee first-year volleyball coach Callie Murphy. Her Lady Flames got their first road victory of the season and picked up Coach Murphy's first win over the team where she played her college volleyball.
The hard-fought 3-2 victory (25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12) over the University of West Alabama ended the Lady Flames rugged five-match road-losing streak and improved their overall record to 6-15 and 4-6 in Gulf South Conference play.
"Tonight's win was incredible. The girls had grit and grinded out a victory. Going into this weekend, we talked about it's all or nothing. Find ways to keep the ball alive and score big and celebrate harder. And that's what the team did tonight and I'm so proud," said Coach Murphy.
Sophomore Allie Whittinghill, who delivered the deciding kill for the Lady Flames in the final set, finished the evening with 15 kills and an impressive .321 attack mark. Sophomore Macy Petty stepped up with 12 kills and an even more impressive mark of .417 attack. Junior Abby Stroh continued to work her way back into top playing form and finished with 10 kills
Sophomore Reagan Bratton delivered 48 all-important assists and senior Calina Croy came up late with nine assists. On the defensive side, sophomore Kamryn Haplin had 22 big digs and sophomore Erica South followed with 10. Petty went to the net for four blocks. Whittinghill and junior Scottie Cook followed with three blocks apiece.
"A few key players for us were Reagan (Bratton), Allie (Whittinghill) and Abby (Stroh). I thought each of them played exceptionally well and really executed our game plan well," praised the coach.
The Tigers flexed their muscles at the net. Chyna Dixon led the way with 14 kills. Nathalia Medeiros and Johanna Martin had 12 slams each while Madison Fisher pitched in with 11. Maddie Van Dyke set up her teammates with 43 assists.
The Lady Flames will continue their road adventures on Saturday and move on down to Clinton, Mississippi and face Mississippi College in a match scheduled for 2 p.m. "We have a tough match tomorrow against a solid Mississippi College team, but we will be ready to go get a second road win," added Coach Murphy.
