HARTSVILLE, SC - Lenoir-Rhyne went to a fifth set for the first time this season, seeing themselves fall 3-2 at Coker. This win by the Cobras snapped a 14-match losing streak to the Bears.
Kayli Cleaver led the team with 19 kills while
Sydney Karjala finished with a season-high 30 assists.
The Bears will conclude the 2025 regular season at home against Lincoln-Memorial on Friday for senior day.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Coker 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 2 (25-23, 18-25, 12-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (19-6, 13-4 SAC), Coker (10-16, 6-11 SAC)
Location: Hartsville, SC I Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- Coker jumped ahead early 9-3 in the first set.
- A Sydney Karjala service ace tied the game at 11-11.
- Back-to-back kills from Pelin Aksoy sealed the first set 25-23 for the Cobras.
- Lenoir-Rhyne responded with an 8-4 run to begin the second set.
- Averie Dale's second kill of the set extended the Bears lead to six, 20-14.
- Three straight points by the Bears gave them a 25-18 victory to even the match at 1-1.
- Lenoir-Rhyne led as many as 11 points in the third set, cruising to a 25-12 win.
- The Bears finished with 17 kills and a .417 hitting % in set three.
- Emmie Modlin capitalized on the pass from Alicia Barbarito to tie the fourth set at 20-20.
- The Cobras closed out the fourth set on a 5-1 run, forcing a fifth set.
- A block assist by Kayli Cleaver and Dale cut the Cobras lead to 13-12 in the fifth set.
- McKay Kasper clinched the match for the Cobras with a service ace.
- Despite the loss Lenoir-Rhyne led in hitting percentage (.158-.102), kills (60-48), digs (103-100), and assists (52-44).
- Both teams committed 28 attack errors and combined for 19.5 total blocks.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This was the 31st all-time meeting between the Bears and Cobras.
- Lenoir-Rhyne now leads the all-time series 27-4.
- Hadley Prince set a season-high and Lenoir-Rhyne high with 32 digs.
- This is the first time since the SAC semi-Finals last year against Anderson that the Bears went to a fifth set.
- Averie Dale entered tonight second in the conference with a .400 hitting %.
- This was Kayli Cleaver's 34th career match at LR producing 10 or more kills.
- Emmaleigh Allen generated her fourth double-double of the season.
- Sydney Karjala has had 20 or more assists in four of the last six matches.
- Emmie Modlin has over 200 kills and 300 assists in her first year at Lenoir-Rhyne.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will return home for their final regular season match on Friday against Lincoln Memorial. The Bears won the first meeting of the season on the road 3-0 back on October 17th. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
