FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Georgia – The Lee volleyball team overcame a couple of slow starts to pull out victories and improved to 5-1 on the season. The Lady Flames defeated Francis Marion (S.C.) in the opening and then followed up with a win over old SSAC rival Southern Wesleyan. Lee will return to action on Saturday when they face Erskine College at 12:30 and host Emmanuel College at 5:30.

Lee 3, Francis Marion 2 (10-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-13)

Allie Scurlock turned in an outstanding performance in leading the Lady Flames victory. She had 19 kills and a .459 attack percentage. Abby Stroh added 13 kills, four service aces and 11 digs. Ashton Middleton had 27 assists, Clarissa Soza added 10 sets and two aces plus eight digs. Kamryn Halpin paced the defense with 20 digs and Middleton came up with 11. Macy Petty contributed four blocks to the winning effort. 

With the contest going right down the wire, Stroh came up with a kill to put Lee on top 13-12 in the fifth set. Francis Marion came back to tie at 13 but Scurlock came up with two big kills off sets by Middleton to seal the hard-earned victory. 

Lee 3, Southern Wesleyan 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15)

The Lady Flames battled through a couple of slow starts in the first two sets against the Warriors before pulling away in the final set. Again, it was Scurlock pacing the attack with 18 kills and an even better attack mark of .615 (hitting on 18 of 26 attempts). Stroh followed with 10 slams. Middleton and Carmen Perez had five kills each while Middleton was solid across the board with 32 sets and 11 digs. Stroh also had 18 digs in the victory. 

Coach Christa Fabre's thoughts:

"Allie killed it today. She played with such determination, relentlessly, and found ways to score. Allie led our offense with such a strong performance. She was a go-to hitter for us and neither team had an answer.

"Our match with Francis Marion was a battle to the end and such a great experience for our team. It was the first match this season to go five sets and it always feels good to come out on top. They had a strong offense and we struggled to defend early, but I was proud of the adjustments our team made. We played hard from start to finish.

"It is challenging to come back after a long and emotional performance like we had this morning and be able to take care of business. I am so proud of our team for that and the way we played in our match with Southern Wesleyan. Two of our key players are injured so it was great to see other players step up in their spots today."