SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College women's volleyball team plays a pair of South Atlantic Conference matches this weekend, tangling with Lenoir-Rhyne in an All Saints' Day contest Friday before facing the Saints of Limestone on Saturday.

Heartbreaker vs. Tusculum

- The Catawba Indians welcomed Tusculum to Goodman Arena for a Tuesday night affair, falling in a 3-2 nail-biter

- Kelcie Love led the offense with 17 kills followed by Lauren Bodell and Sofia Beard who had 13 and 12, respectively

- Sydney Wattles had an impressive game on both ends, hammering nine kills with six blocks including two solo stops

- Haley Moffett tacked on a double-double with a career-high 48 assists and 13 digs

- Riley Hill paced the team in digs, recording her second-highest mark of the year at 25

Blocking on the Rise

- Against Tusculum, Catawba posted its best night of the season in the blocking arena, tallying 11 blocks in the five-set contest

- The performance marked the program's highest value since an 11-stop outing vs. Newberry on Sep. 19, 2023

- Katie Clark leads the way with 31 blocks, eight on her own, while landing third on the team at 68 kills

- Wattles follows with 20 stops as Bodell has chipped in 19

All-Time Series

- Friday will mark the 101st meeting between Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne in a series that the blue and white lead 57-43

- The foes' last matchup on Oct. 28, 2023 resulted in a 3-1 Catawba victory, snapping a 12-match LR hot streak

- Catawba has played Limestone on significantly fewer occasions as the Catawba Indians hold an 8-3 advantage, not including two 2-0 wins in 1970

- The Saints have defeated Catawba in each of the past two seasons and will host the blue and white for the second time in series history

Scouting the Bears

- Lenoir-Rhyne opened the year with 13 wins in a row, helping the Bears to a 20-3 overall record and is receiving national votes despite 3-0 losses in two of their last three matches

- LR is fresh off a sweep at Limestone when it hit north of .200 for the 15th time this season

- Sophomore middle Averie Dale stands second in the SAC for blocking with 91 stops, averaging 1.14 per set

- On offense, Kayli Cleaver has been dominant with 251 kills on a .287 hitting percentage, ranking third in the conference at 3.14 kills per stanza

Scouting the Saints

- Limestone comes in on a five-match skid that has dropped its record to 5-11, 4-9 in league play

- The Saints will have two opportunities to halt the streak this weekend, battling Newberry on the road Friday before returning home to host Catawba

- Mia McMillen is the Saints' primary offensive weapon, averaging a team-high 2.80 kills per set, while Josie Curran brings an accurate attack with 168 kills on a .219 success rate

- Libero Sarah Konovodoff and McMillen lead the digs category as Chloe Ratliff's 56 blocks (19 solo) pace the defensive corps

Follow Along

All South Atlantic Conference matches are broadcast on FloSports ($) and live stats links are available on CatawbaAthletics.com.