GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Led by three straight service aces by red-shirt senior Naomi Hockless, the Lee University volleyball team battled back after trailing 23-20 in the final game on Saturday morning against host Tusculum University in the Pioneer Invitational. The Lady Flames gained a 24-23 lead on a kill by Esthefany Rabit and claimed the 25-23 comeback win on another ace by Berra Soyler.
Soyler also finished with three service aces in the third-game win while Sarah Palumbo and Rabit had two each as the Lady Flames posted 12 huge aces in the victory.
The final 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-23) tally improved Lee's record to 3-0 on the young season while the host Pioneers dropped to 1-2. The Lady Flames will be back in action on Saturday when they play a pair of games in the Lee Invitational. They will be matched against Emory & Henry University (Va.) at 10 a.m. followed by Thomas More University (Ky.) at 4 p.m.
Jasmine Terry totaled nine kills while Jordyn Butler delivered seven. Payton Danley and Rabit came away with six slams apiece in the three-game win.
Sydney Sharpe had 10 assists and Madison Dahl added nine. Izzy Denton went to the deck for 11 digs while Rabit garnered three blocks and Olivia Reevey went to the net to knock down a pair.
The Pioneers were paced by solid efforts from Joydyn Roderick and Breana Pelbath with eight kills apiece. Victoria Church claimed 16 assists and teammate Eliza Jewell Oliverius dished off 15. Taylor Sanders had nine digs and Mackenzie Land countered with eight. Tusculum only had two blocks in the loss.
Coach Christa Fabre's thoughts:
"One of our major goals this morning vs Tusculum was to out compete them, every person, every moment- with our energy and volume as a whole and tactically on the court.
With both of our outsides being subbed out in the backrow, we got close to running out of subs and had to pivot. Our girls did a great job of remaining steady and determined, despite being at a point deficit for most of the set. We had some Leo players step up in big ways from the service line and overall pursuit to win the set and the match in three.
This weekend overall was what it needed to be. We have areas we can see that need improvement, but we can have confidence moving forward. Ready to get to work again on Monday!"
