GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Lee University volleyball team opened the season with a split on Friday afternoon at the Redderson Invitational. In the opening game of the season, Lee fell to #13 Wingate University 3-1 and then rebounded to beat UVA-Wise 3-1. The opening set of the year saw the Flames and Bulldogs battle all the way to a thrilling 34-32 final.
Sophia Lippert led the way for Lee on day one with 22 total kills and 25 digs. She had back-to-back double-doubles in the split.
GAME 1
It was a thrilling first set as the two teams traded the lead multiple times before the Flames started to gain an advantage. Three straight attack errors gave Lee the 18-14 lead and forced a timeout from Wingate. Lee continued to press and made it 22-18 and forced another timeout. Out of the break Wingate responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead. The Flames battled back and forced it into extra points. The two teams battled until Wingate until a service error from Sophia Lippert and a kill from the Bulldogs gave them the 34-32 win.
The second set saw Lee strike quickly. Sophia Lippert had three straight kills to give the Flames the 10-6 lead. Emmi Black added a service ace and kill and Lee led 20-11. After a timeout from Wingate, they began to march back into the contest. They rattled off eight straight points before Esthefany Rabit knocked one in to give Lee some momentum back. Two more kills from Lippert and Lee won the second set 25-22.
In the third set, Wingate never trailed. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the way to a 25-16 final. The Flames only managed five kills in the third set and hit -0.029. The fourth set was another set of runs. Lee jumped out early to a 7-3 advantage before Wingate made it 8-7. After that, neither team led by more than two points. It went to extra points again and Wingate came out victorious 26-24 to take the match.
Lippert had 12 kills and 14 digs to lead the Flames. Avery Sample had 17 digs, while Rabit had seven kills and seven block assists.
Lee had more team kills than Wingate at 48-47. However, the thirteenth ranked team in the nation had 15 aces in the win.
GAME 2
Lee came out of the gate slowly in game two and allowed UVA Wise to take the first set 25-23. After trailing early, Wise used a 9-1 run to take a 19-12 advantage. The Flames clawed their way back but could only manage to tie it a 22-22 before falling in the first set.
Lee never trailed in the second set rolling to a 25-18 victory. The third set was a little tighter as the two teams traded the lead multiple times. The Flames finally took advantage when Payton Danley had three straight kills and then a fourth after Rabit hit one. Lee pulled away and won the third set 25-16. The fourth set was all Lee as they won it 25-10 to earn the 3-1 match victory.
Lippert had another great game as she had ten kills, 11 digs, four assists, two aces, and hit .533 in the match. Berra Soyler had 25 assists while Mikayla Buhr had 12 digs. Jordyn Butler also added 11 kills.
Lee hit .297% as a team while holding UVA Wise to just 0.052%. The Flames had 51 kills.
Lee will wrap up the Redderson Invitational on Saturday taking on Converse.
Coach Christa Fabre's Thoughts:
"Wingate was a strong opponent and did a good job of getting us out of system with aggressive serving. We had several opportunities to close out the first set and had errors in important moments. Turning right around to play UVA wise was a challenge and we gave away the first set. We dug deep and got into more of a rhythm to take the next three. Several of our players had great performances. Sophia playing all the way around was solid in serve receive, defense and hitting percentage, Jordyn had high level play as well and loved to see Avery stepping up as a freshman with her back row play. So much to learn and grow from today."
