The Lee volleyball team had to work for it but in the end it claimed a 3-0 victory over the Bryan College Lions on Tuesday evening inside Walker Arena.

All three matches (26-24, 25-23, 25-20) were closing contested but the Lady Flames pulled away late in each set to improve to 2-1 on the year. Bryan College played a 16 match fall schedule and is now 15-3 overall on the 2020-21 season.

Emma Flowers led the Lady Flames with 27 assists to go along with nine kills and 11 digs as she showcased her versatility bouncing from setter to outside hitter. The junior Cleveland High School product committed just one error and posted a .444 attack percentage. Flowers was filling for injured setter Calina Croy. Abby Stroh and Allie Whittinghill paced the offensive effort with 12 kills each. Libero Mackenzie Pearson complied 22 digs in the victory. Rachel Junen added five kills for the Lady Flames on a sizzling .556 hitting percentage.

The two clubs battled back and forth in the first set with neither team holding a lead of greater than two the entire set. With the score tied at 24, Whittinghill took over and registered back to back kills to close out the win.

The Lady Flames jumped out to a 22-16 edge in the second set before the Lions answered with a 7-2 run to pull within one at 24-23. An attack error by Bryan would give Lee the set at 25-23 and a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The Lions wouldn't go down without a fight however in set three as they jumped out to a 14-8 advantage before the Lady Flames regrouped and went on a 6-0 run to pull even. With the score tied at 19 Lee put the match away with four straight points. With the score 23-20 Whittinghill recorded her 12 and final kill and a Lions error would follow for match point.

"I don't think this was one of our cleanest games, but the girls have really come together and battled through some tough injuries," said Lee head coach Andrea Hudson who captured win No. 841 in her illustrious career. "I'm really proud with how Emma has stepped into the setter role even though she is primarily an outside hitter.

The Lee defense limited the Lions to just a .065 hitting percentage. Gigi Ford led the visitors with nine kills while Abby Rector added seven. Sirah Foor had 18 assists and Joslynn Mendoza chipped in 18 digs.

"Close matches like this help us to get prepared for these type of situations as we get back into conference battles this weekend," added Hudson. "I'm glad we were able to get this game scheduled. Bryan has done very well in their conference and we knew they would give us their best shot tonight. We weren't prefect but we found ways to come up with the points when we needed them most."

The Lady Flames will get back into Gulf South Conference Pool Play on Friday as they travel to Rome, Ga. to take on West Georgia on Friday at 4 p.m. and Valdosta State on Saturday at 11 a.m.