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September 25, 2009
 NEWBERRY, S.C. – Kelsci Flora's (Mishawaka, Ind.) standout defensive play on Friday night was not enough as Newberry College defeated Mars Hill in volleyball to improve to 10-7 overall, 2-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. Newberry won by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 26-24 to sweep Mars Hill (7-6 overall, 1-4 SAC).
The first set indicated that the match would be closely fought. The teams exchanged points steadily down the stretch with Newberry clinging to a marginal lead. A four-point run by Mars Hill gave the Lions an opportunity to tie the score, but kills by Fernanda Frey (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) on consecutive points put Newberry in position to win the set.
Newberry rolled their success over into the second set with a 10-4 opening run. Mars Hill battled back but surrendered a six-point run to Newberry. Eventually a block by Maia and Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) sealed the deal.
Mars Hill did not let Newberry’s two-set lead deter them and demonstrated that Newberry would still have to earn the victory. With the third set tied for the seventh time at 10-10, Mars Hill put together a scoring run to build a lead. The Lions produced multiple set-point opportunities with a 24-22 lead and a fourth set seemed inevitable. Newberry responded with a four-point run of their own, capped off by a kill by Niki Hroblak (Lake Wylie, S.C.) to end the match.
Frey shined for Newberry, producing another double-double. She led the team in kills with 11 and added 12 digs. Leah Nye (Hoover, Ala.) recorded six kills on only 10 attempts. Browning led the team in assists with 31.
 Mars Hill was led by Laura Ann Huskey (West Henderson, N.C.) with 10 kills, nine digs and two service aces. Traci Teague (Ramseur, N.C.) recorded four service aces. Flora had 18 digs. Sarah Paquette (Swannanoa, N.C.) dished out 17 assists.
The Lions will travel to Carson-Newman on Tuesday night. The match will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Boxscore...
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