NEWBERRY — The Newberry Wolves volleyball team (8-6 (3-4 SAC)) fell to South Atlantic Conference (SAC) opponent Lenoir-Rhyne (9-3 (7-1 SAC)) 3-2 on Thursday.
The Wolves opened the first set strong with a 4-1 run that featured a pair of Natasha Bannister kills, but the Bears answered with a 4-1 run of their own to tie the set at five. Kills from Taylor Hall and Elizabeth Ober led the Wolves on another 4-1 run, but they could not gain much separation from the Bears. After being tied at 17-17, the Wolves went on a 6-1 run that featured a pair of kills from Avery Webb in order to take the set 25-19.
The Wolves started out strong again by beginning the second set with runs of 4-1 and 5-1 to claim a 9-4 lead. Newberry would keep pushing, and a Hall kill granted the Wolves a 7-point advantage, the largest lead for either team for the match. The Bears came storming back with a 7-1 run to close within one point of the Wolves. Newberry kept fighting, but after a Bannister kill put them up 22-18, the Bears went on a 6-0 run to earn a match point opportunity at 24-22. The teams fought hard as the set went back-and-forth, and it eventually ground to a 30-30 tie. After a kill from Margaret McMahon fended off another set-point, Bannister put the set away by a score of 32-30.
In the third set, a Zoe Dinkins kill and a service ace from Katie Ullsperger propelled the Wolves to a 4-0 run to tie the set at 11-11. The Bears pushed back out ahead, but the Wolves stayed within striking distance. A 5-1 Newberry run brought the Wolves to within one point of the Bears, but Lenoir-Rhyne answered with a 3-0 spurt. The Wolves kept fighting, rallying with a 4-1 run that included back-to-back kills from Dinkins to fend off two set-points, but it would not be enough as the Bears claimed the third set by a score of 25-23.
The fourth set was arguably the most neck-and-neck of the entire match. Neither team produced a lead any greater than three points. The moment one team seemed to have an advantage, the other had an answer. After being down 11-8, Newberry went on a 5-1 run with kills from Bannister and McMahon. Later in the set, the Bears responded with a 5-0 run after the Wolves had a 19-17 lead. A kill from Hall was able to fend off one set-point, but the Bears took the fourth set 25-23.
The fifth set showed how determined both teams were as the set was tied on eight different occasions. Neither team seemed to be able to gain any separation until a pair of kills from Bannister gave the Wolves a three-point advantage. However, the Bears answered with a 5-1 run to take a one-point lead. After tying the score back up at 11-11, the Bears went on a 4-1 run to end the set 15-12, the match 3-2, and break the Wolves’ hearts.
Despite the loss, the Wolves showed their resiliency, going toe-to-toe with the SAC-leading Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne. The Wolves actually finished with eight more total points than the Bears overall.
Bannister led the Wolves with a 21 kill, 24 dig double-double. Hall had 11 kills and nine digs while Webb notched a 53 assist, 15 dig double-double to go along with six kills of her own. Dinkins had 11 kills, six digs, and eight total blocks, five of which were solo. Amanda Berecz produced 30 digs on the night defensively. Ober and McMahan each had nine kills while Ullsperger added nine digs to round out an impressive box score.