HICKORY, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne got their mojo back on Tuesday, taking down Catawba 3-0 in the 'Shu.
Down 21-13 in the second set, the Bears rallied to tie things up at 22-22, then took the set 27-25. They used that momentum to dominate the third set, winning by 12 points.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Catawba 0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-13)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (5-3, 3-1 SAC), Catawba (7-2, 3-2 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- A back-and-forth battle early on saw the Bears score four consecutive points to take a 13-6 lead.
- A block from Brooke Aeschliman sealed the 25-18 set one victory.
- Trailing 8-7, Catawba turned the tide on the Bears with a 6-0 run.
- Following three points from the Bears, the Catawba Indians scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 21-13 lead.
- An Aeschliman kill ignited a 6-0 run from the Bears, which was only broken up by an LR service error.
- Following that error, Addison Vary got the Bears going again, as her kill started another run to take the lead.
- The Bears continued to push, eventually winning on an Averie Dale kill and Julie Donato service ace.
- Using the momentum from that second set, LR went on a 9-0 run midway through the third and cruised to a 25-13 set victory.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Averie Dale (11) and Addison Vary (11) led the Bears in kills, hitting .471 and .440 respectively.
- Alicia Barbarito was tops with 25 assists while Julie Donato led with seven digs.
- Dale finished the game with four blocks while Morgan Blankenship had three aces.
- The Bears hit .314 for the match, the highest mark this season.
- Lenoir-Rhyne didn't record an error in that third set, hitting .538.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series between these two teams 47-44.
- The Bears have won 17 of the last 18 matches, falling once in 2023.
- Emmaleigh Allen now sits at 972 career kills and 901 career digs.
- This win inches Nicole Barringer closer to 100 at LR, putting her at 92.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will host Wingate in a rivaLRy match on Friday. The Bulldogs are 7-2 (3-1 SAC) and took down Coker 3-0 earlier tonight. Friday's game, which doubles as a white out, will start at 7:00 p.m.
