CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Lee University volleyball team made Volley For A Cure an even more special night for Coach Christa Fabre by quickly posting a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-19) victory over visiting University of Montevallo inside Paul Dana Walker Arena on Friday evening. During the festivities, the Lady Flames presented Britain Sapp with a scholarship before she attends Lee next fall.
The win improves Lee's record to 8-5 in GSC play and 12-10 overall while the Falcons dropped to 6-6, 9-13. The Lady Flames will be right back in action on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) when they host the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
With Sophia Lippert leading the way in the first set, the Lady Flames wasted no time in forcing Montevallo into a pair of timeouts and scoring the first-set win. Lippert finished the match with nine kills and a .333 attack mark. She was joined by Sara Palumbo, who also had nine kills and came up with a team-leading 11 digs.
Esthefany Rabit added eight slams and a .385 kill mark. Jordyn Butler joined in with seven kills while Lee finished with 39 kills to only 25 for the Falcons. Sydney Sharpe was the assist leader with 19 and Berra Soyler followed with 15. The Lady Flames tallied 37 assists and held Montevallo to 23.
Izzy Denton delivered three aces for Lee and also had 10 digs. The Lady Flames went to the deck for a total of 46 digs while the Falcons came up with 26. Montevallo led Lee in the blocking department, 19-12.
Ellise Hanson led the blocking attack with six while three other teammates went to the net for three apiece. Hanson also had seven kills and a .600 attack percentage in the loss and Danielle Greene countered with six. Lippert had four blocks for Lee. Palumbo and Naomi Hockless had three apiece.
Coach Christa Fabre's Thoughts:
"Volley For a Cure is such a special night and a long standing tradition. I have always enjoyed playing and coaching during this time and there is a different energy in the gym. Tonight was such a win for our team and the things we are working through. It's been a big focus to come out and starting with intensity and tonight we did.
