Box Score HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions are back at the top of the TranSouth Conference, and avenged an earlier loss in the process.

FHU came from behind in each of the first two sets, then held off a rally in the fourth set to put away visiting Bethel (Tenn.) University, 3-1, on Monday night in the Sports Center.

With Bethel's attention placed squarely on Diana Silva in the fourth set as the Wildcats were rallying from a seven-point deficit, the Lady Lions looked to Nataly Gutierrez to finish off the match. She did just that, putting away five of FHU's final six points with explosive kills.

FHU, which rallied from a five-point deficit in the first set and a six-point deficit in the second set to take a 2-0 lead, held a 16-9 edge in the fourth set before Bethel took eight of the next nine points to tie the set at 17-17. A Sydney Rice kill helped break Bethel's momentum before Gutierrez's flurry at the end of the match.

The win moves the Lady Lions (8-6, 4-1) into first place in the TranSouth Conference standings, while Bethel falls to 13-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play. FHU's lone conference loss came at the hands of Bethel earlier this season when the Wildcats defeated Freed-Hardeman for the first time in school history, 3-0.

The Lady Lions started off the match quickly, jumping to a 5-1 lead, but Bethel rolled off four straight points to tie the first set at 5-5. From there, neither team held more than a two-point advantage until the Wildcats opened up a 19-14 lead behind the hitting of Thaise Vieria.

But Freed-Hardeman fought back, taking four straight points to pull within one point, then taking the lead at 21-20 after a kill by Gutierrez. The two teams traded points until FHU finally put the set away, 25-23.

Bethel jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second set, but again the Lady Lions clawed their way back with six straight points to tie the set at 9-9. Once again, the teams traded points with neither getting more than a two-point edge before FHU rolled off three straight to go up 18-15. Bethel kept it close but never led again as FHU won the set by the same score as the first.

The third set was tightly contested and was tied at 13-13 before the Wildcats took control by winning 12 of the next 17 points - including four straight points on two occasions - to take the set 25-18.

Their rally in the fourth gave hope of forcing a fifth set until the Lady Lions held them off.

Gutierrez finished the match with 15 kills - including eight in the fourth set - followed by Silva with 13, most of which came in the first three sets. Claire Pennington and Karim Raymond rounded off the attack with 11 and eight kills respectively. Sydney Rice had a career-high nine blocks, while libero Callie West led the defense with 17 digs.

Freed-Hardeman travels to Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College on Tuesday for a 7:00 PM match.