Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College women's volleyball upended South Atlantic Conference leaders Lenoir-Rhyne in Goodman Gym on Saturday in front of an electric homecoming crowd, winning three sets to one to improve to 8-10 on the season.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba hitters were in terrific form, racking up 61 kills to Lenoir-Rhyne's 48
- 57 of Catawba's kills were assisted, with 44 of the Bears' kills being assisted on
- Catawba committed 22 errors to 18 for Lenoir-Rhyne
- Defensively, Catawba paced the game in digs with 73, as Lenoir-Rhyne had 69
- Both sides had 10 block assists and a solo block, respectively
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Kelcie Love erupted for 20 kills, including several in clutch moments to spur the Catawba victory. Three other Catawba players ended in the double-digits, with Chloe Danielson finishing with 13, Katrina Misra at 12, and Jordan Danielson with 11
- Dara Kane was also crucial, serving up 50 assists and conducting the offense. Riley Hill notched five as well
- Hill led the way with 21 digs defensively, as Kane continued to fill up the stat sheet with 13 of her own
- Chloe Danielson notched three block assists, followed by Misra, Clark, and Jordan Danielson with two apiece
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET
- Misra and Chloe Danielson were big early, with Danielson notching a pair of kills in quick succession early in a 5-5 start for both sides
- That was where Love would take over, with four kills in five plays in an incredible stretch to put Catawba up 10-6
- She'd add a fifth along with a kill from Kane, and coupled with several Lenoir-Rhyne errors sent Catawba six points clear at 16-10 and forced a Bears' timeout
- But the timeout did little to stem Catawba's momentum, as Misra and Chloe Danielson added kills and Love continued her immense first set with three more kills to make it 23-15, Catawba
- It was a deficit that Lenoir-Rhyne wouldn't recover from, as a series of errors would seal the set late and give Catawba the win in the opening set, 25-19
SECOND SET
- Errors opened the second set, with just one kill from Jordan Danielson in the first 11 points as Lenoir-Rhyne opened a 6-5 lead
- That would be where Catawba's hitters began to heat up, as Love scored another pair of kills. She would be aided by Jordan Danielson and Katie Clark, and then Misra erupted for three kills in a 4-0 Catawba run to force a Bears' timeout at 14-9
- Lenoir-Rhyne would battle back, however, going on a 10-4 run to take an 19-18 lead
- The Bears would close the game on a 7-1 run, bouncing back and taking the second set to even the game up
THIRD SET
- Building on their momentum from the previous set, the Bears jumped out to a 6-1 lead out of the gate. But while Catawba bent, they didn't break; a 5-1 run of their own made it a 7-6 game thanks to kills from Chloe Danielson and Misra
- Love was timely again with a pair of kills, as both teams continued to trade blows in a back-and-forth set
- Neither team could take a lead by more than one, until Lenoir-Rhyne went up 20-18
- Catawba called timeout, and it proved to turn the tide; a 3-0 Catawba run, led by pair of Jordan Danielson kills, put the home side ahead and kickstarted a 7-2 Catawba run to stun the Bears and take the third set, 25-22
FOURTH SET
- The fourth set continued the trend of the afternoon and turned into a battle early, with both Chloe Danielson and Love each scoring a pair of kills in a set that would be knotted up at 16-16 thanks to errors on both sides
- At 16-all, Catawba launched a 4-1 run courtesy of two more kills from the dominant Love and another from Jordan Danielson, breaking the set open at 20-17
- That stretch would quickly turn into a 9-3 Catawba run as they steamrolled their way to the win, locking the victory up thanks to back to back kills from Misra and Kane. 25-19 would be the final in the final set
UP NEXT
- Catawba is back in action on Friday, Nov. 3, welcoming the Emory & Henry Wasps to Goodman Arena at 7 p.m.
