CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Led by four players in double-digit kills, the Lee University volleyball team recorded its second straight victory with a four-set 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17) victory over the University of West Alabama inside Walker Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Flames evened their GSC record at 3-3 and are 7-8 overall. The Tigers dropped to 2-5, 6-8.
After a slow start, Sophia Lippert recovered and finished strong in recording 15 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. She also went to the net for three blocking assists. Jordyn Butler followed with 11 kills and an even better .346 hitting mark. Sara Palumbo added 10 slams and produced another double-double with 13 digs.
The highlight of the contest belonged to Esthefany Rabit. She not only had 10 kills and an impressive .625 attack percentage, but she also helped control the net with four solo blocks and four blocking assists. Naomi Hockless joined Rabit at the net with a solo block and three assists. All totaled, Lee had five solos and 14 assists.
Berra Soyler turned in one of her better all-around efforts of the year. She dished off 27 assists and had 17 serves without an error and added 13 digs to her total. Freshman Sydney Sharpe followed with 16 assists. Izzy Denton was the dig leader with 18. Lee had 10 players go to the deck for digs and finished with a total of 66 digs.
Over the four sets Lee hit .301, but in winning the fourth set connected on 16-of-30 attacks for a .433 percentage. On the other hand, the Lady Flames held the Tigers to a .200 hitting mark. Cadence Goeden proved hard for Lee to control at the net. She finished with 21 kills and Klara Bobanova contributed 14 kills and a team-leading 13 digs. Jana Petkovic set her teammates up with 36 assists.
Lee led every department. The Lady Flames had 59 kills to 51 for the visitors. They had 53 assists to 48 for the Tigers. Sixty-six digs to 52 for UWA. Lee also had 19 total blocks to four for West Alabama.
The Lady Flames will return to the road quickly and face Christian Brothers University for the second time this season on Tuesday evening. They will travel to Montgomery, Ala. and face University of Auburn at Montgomery on Saturday afternoon.
Coach Christa Fabre's thoughts:
"Great weekend for our team all around. Conference play didn't start off the way we would have liked, and the reset we had this week was needed. UWA is a strong team this year and we knew we were going to have to bring our best, rising to the occasion after a five-set match last night. This group is tough and fought through each set, finishing the fourth with our highest hitting percentage of .433. Sophia finished the match so strong after a slow start. Esthefany was dominant at the net with 10 kills and high efficiency. All around a great effort from each player and our team as a whole."
