(Henderson, Tenn.) – The Thomas More University women's volleyball team snuck away from the Brewer Sports Center in Henderson, Tennessee with a 3-2 victory over the Freed-Hardeman University Lions.
How It Happened
The Saints found themselves down 18-12 in set one, before beginning to make a move to get back into the set. A trio of
Sawyer Lorentz kills fueled a 5-1 run that made it 19-17 and forced a Lions timeout. Out of the break, Thomas More continued to put the pressure on Freed-Hardeman, as they contributed to the cause with three errors before a
Sydney Hilderbran kill capped off the comeback and made it 21-21. The Lions continued to make errors down the stretch as the comeback was complete for the Saints in a 25-22 set victory.
No such comeback magic was found in the second set, as Freed-Hardeman led by as many as seven in a 25-19 win to tie the match 1-1.
The third set was back and forth, with the Lions holding a close 19-16 lead and forcing a Saints timeout. Thomas More exploded out of the timeout, pairing six Lion errors with a pair of Lorentz kills and a
Kate Woelfel ace to go on a 9-0 run to win the set 25-19.
Freed-Hardeman dominated set four and forced the Saints second straight five-set match and fifth of the season.
Thomas More tried to put it away early with a 9-4 lead in the fifth, but Freed-Hardeman would not go away easily. A 4-0 rally made it a 9-8 set and forced a Saints timeout. Thomas More pushed their lead back to four with a 3-0 run out of the break to put themselves within three of the win. The Lions made one final push to get back to within two at 13-11 but an
Ally Albrinck kill and a Hilderbran kill won it for the Saints.
Notables
- This is the Saints first five-set victory of the season.
- Lorentz became the eighth Saint in program-history to reach 250 career blocks Friday night, with a four-block performance (one solo, three assists) and now has 253.
- Lorentz led the team with 11 kills, her fifth match with double-digit kills.
- McClanahan had 35 assists, her 15th match with 30 or more assists.
- Asia Ferrando (17), Ruthie Neu (12), and Kaitlyn Stivers (11) all had double-digit digs in the match. This is their eighth match this season with three or more players recording 10 or more digs.
What's Up Next
The Saints sit at 11-7 overall this season and are now 5-0 in the Mid-South Conference, one of only two teams undefeated in conference play (Campbellsville).
They are right back in action tomorrow afternoon at Bethel University (Tenn.) at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. They beat the Wildcats in five sets last season in their lone matchup.
