HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Catawba women's volleyball team wrapped up its weekend road trip in Tennessee by heading to Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters took the fifth set to win the match 3-2.
Maggie Ayers was the blue and white's leading scorer once again with 13 kills and three block assists.
Lillie Kate Rogers turned in a strong all-around performance, recording 11 kills, 17 digs and three aces.
Rebekah Ayers was impressive, unleashing 10 kills on an efficient .364 hitting percentage.
Camden Bizot produced 27 assists and eight digs, while
Sydney McCutcheon tallied 18 assists and five digs. Senior libero
Riley Hill provided a game-high 21 digs.
Catawba (12-10, 8-10 SAC) finished with 55 kills on a .144 team hitting percentage. Lincoln Memorial (12-10, 10-8 SAC) landed 62 attacks at a .263 rate. The Railsplitters defense blocked 13 attacks compared to the blue and white's four.
The Catawba Indians trailed 10-6 early in the first frame before an LMU bad set, an attack error and two Rogers aces leveled the score. The Railsplitters looked to pull away after a strong offensive series gave them back a 22-17 advantage. Catawba chipped away and made it 24-21, set point for the hosts.
Alani Kincaid then delivered a kill,
Maddie Henning and
Maggie Ayers combined for a block, and Lincoln Memorial committed two more errors before
Maggie Ayers heroically landed the set-sealing kill as Catawba came back and stunned the Railsplitters, winning the first stanza 26-24.
The hosts came out strong in the second, leading 12-7. The Catawba Indians answered by generating a 6-0 run highlighted by a Henning ace and kills from Rogers and
Rebekah Ayers. Lincoln Memorial continued its strong play in the middle portion of the sets, taking a 23-18 advantage. Henning delivered another ace and Rogers scored again, but the blue and white comeback effort would fall short in the second, as the Railsplitters hung on to win 25-21.
The Ayers twins combined for seven kills in third, but the determined hosts erupted with a highly productive attack and took the set 25-13 and claimed a 2-1 match lead.
Lincoln Memorial held an 11-8 lead in the fourth frame before
Lauren Patrick took over for Catawba. The senior fired a successful attack through the middle before combining with
Maggie Ayers on a block and landing another kill to even the score. LMU would retake a small advantage, but the Catawba Indians responded with a 4-0 run behind three kills and three assists, all from different players. The Railsplitters earned a 24-23 match point, but the resilient blue and white extended the contest after consecutive kills from
Rebekah Ayers and Rogers and a gallant solo block from Henning, taking the fourth frame 26-24 and forcing a fifth set.
Five different Catawba Indians would record kills in the final stanza, but the Railsplitters offense earned the hosts a 15-6 fifth-set win and a 3-2 South Atlantic Conference victory.
The Catawba Indians will take a southbound trip to first-place Anderson on Friday, October 30th, at 6 p.m. before heading to Newberry on Saturday, October 31st at 2 p.m. for critical matches in the SAC playoff race.
