HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Catawba women's volleyball team took the final three sets at Coker to prevail over the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) foe, 3-1 on Friday night.
Lillie Kate Rogers was exceptional all-around, contributing 18 kills on a .293 hitting percentage, 15 digs, two aces and a block assist. Alani Kincaid and Rebekah Ayers each tallied 12 kills and a block assist. Lauren Patrick rose to the occasion in clutch moments, totaling seven kills on a .313 percentage and adding two blocks.
Camden Bizot and Sydney McCutcheon were accurate with their sets, generating 25 and 20 assists respectively. Riley Hill anchored the defense with 23 digs while chipping in six assists.
Catawba (10-6, 6-6 SAC) was more efficient offensively, producing 65 kills and 59 assists on a .239 hitting percentage, while holding Coker (7-10, 2-9 SAC) to 37 kills and 28 assists at a .147 rate. The hosts held a slight 8-6 edge in both aces and blocks.
The Cobras raced out to an early 13-8 first-set lead before kills from Rogers, Ayers and an ace from Bizot brought Catawba back. Madi McIlwain, Sofia Beard and Kincaid landed points to even the score at 18 apiece, but Coker took back the advantage 23-20. The Catawba Indians clawed back to level the score. However, the hosts would hang on to win 26-24.
The second stanza saw more back-and-forth scoring before the blue and white would go on a 5-0 run behind an ace and strong serving from McCutcheon to take a 17-13 edge. Patrick and Rogers would tack on three more points each as Catawba pulled away to close the frame 25-20 and tie the match.
Like the second set, the third was even until Catawba made another 5-0 run to take a 15-11 cushion. Kincaid, Ayers and Rogers continued their strong offensive nights, but it was Patrick who stepped up largely in crunch time. After a flurry of scores from the Cobras to give them set point, leading 24-22, the visitors came back thanks to middle blockers' heroics. Ayers landed a kill before Patrick delivered a much-needed solo block. Rogers scored to put Catawba back in front, then the senior slammed the door shut with a set-sealing kill as the Catawba Indians claimed a 2-1 match lead.
Rogers took the fourth set over, notching eight of the team's 19 kills as Catawba attacked at a .293 percentage collectively in the frame. Patrick would provide the final point as the blue and white ran away with the final set, 25-19, and captured an impressive road victory.
Catawba improves to 2-1 during the road stretch and back up to .500 in SAC contests in a competitive conference playoff race. The win also marks the blue and white's 10th of the season, surpassing last year's total with 10 regular season matches still to play and highlighting the program's continued improvement.
The Catawba Indians will conclude their long road stretch on Tuesday, October 13th, when they travel to Wingate for a 6 p.m. start time.
