Hickory, N.C. - Averie Dale and Emmie Modlin combined for 31 kills in a 3-1 victory over visiting Catawba on Tuesday night. 

Dale finished with a career-high 17 kills on an incredible .680 hitting percentage. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Catawba 1 (26-28, 25-13, 26-24, 25-21)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (18-5, 12-3 SAC), Catawba (8-12, 5-10 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. I Shuford Arena

STORY OF THE MATCH: 

• Catawba took it to the Bears early, quickly going up 10-6 in the opening set. 
• Neither team led by more than two the rest of the set.
• After an Emmie Modlin kill knotted things up at 25-25, the Catawba Indians scored three of the next four points to take the set.
• Lenoir-Rhyne dominated the second set, getting up 15-4 and cruising to a 25-13 victory.
• The Catawba Indians went up 9-6 in the third set before an Emmaleigh Allen kill and two Hadley Prince aces gave the Bears the lead.
• The visitors hung around, tying things up at 24-24.
• Kayli Cleaver and Addison Vary notched back-to-back kills to take the set.
• Tied at 14, a Vary kill sparked a 7-1 Bear run that eventually led to a 25-21 win.
• Averie Dale (17), Emmie Modlin (14), and Kayli Cleaver (11) each had double-digit kills.
• Alicia Barbarito led the team with a career high 28 assists, followed closely by 26 from Sydney Karjala.
• Hadley Prince and Emmaleigh Allen combined for 34 digs.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Bears have now won eight in a row against Catawba inside the Shu. 
• Kayli Cleaver hit her 1000th career kills tonight.
• Hadley Prince now has over 700 career digs as a Bear. 
• Prince also now has back-to-back seasons with at least 30 service aces. 
• Averie Dale is second in the SAC and 12th in Division II with a .400 hitting percentage.
• Cleaver is second in the conference with 264 total kills.

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will travel to Emory & Henry on Friday night. The Wasps tough season continued earlier this evening as Emory & Henry moved to 0-15 in the SAC after a loss to UVA-Wise. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.