September 7, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

MCKENZIE, Tenn. — In their first Mid-South Conference matchup of the 2022 season, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions bested the hosting Lady Wildcats of Bethel (Tenn.) University 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17).

Despite being out-killed in the opening set, the Lady Lions (7-3, 1-0 MSC) commited fewer errors than their counterparts to take the early 25-15 victory. Jayden Watkins set the tone for the match by slamming down the first of her 14 kills in the match. In the first set, the Lady Lions only allowed Bethel to hold consecutive services twice. FHU potted eight kills with two errors in the first set, while the BU committed eight errors to their 11 kills.

The second set saw Bethel (8-2, 0-1 MSC) fall behing early 7-3 before slowly chipping away at the Freed-Hardeman lead to tie the match at 13-13. The Lady Wildcats and Lady Lions would trade points until a 4-0 run by Bethel put the hosts on top 17-15. A kill from Kacey Donegan shook the Wildcats, who committed three straight attack errors. Back-to-back kills from Watkins and Avery Harris set up FHU with set point, but a kill from the Wildcats' Hannah McGowan gave service to Bethel requiring extra points. A Bethel service error was followed by an attack error to give the Lady Lions a 2-0 set advantage with the 26-24 win.

BU bounced back in the fourth set, tallying 12 kills to FHU's seven. The Lady Lions put up a fight to end the match in three sets, but a 9-3 run by the Lady Wildcats handed FHU their first set loss of the match by a 25-22 margin.

Unhappy with their performance in the preceding set, Freed-Hardeman doubled their kills in the fourth set, jumping from seven kills in 43 attempts to 14 kills in 34 tries. In what has turned out to be a theme for the Lady Lions, a long turn at the service line helped propel the girls in maroon to victory. Adleigh Mayes stepped up to served tied 11-11. Her turn ended with a service ace with her Lady Lions leading 19-11 before the Wildcats sided out. A kill by Avery Harris gave the Lady Lions the set win at 25-17 and match win of 3-1.

FHU was led offensively by Watkins, posting a 14-kill night. Kacey Donegan was a kill away from her second double-double of the season, tallying nine kills and a team-high 21 digs. The dynamic duo of Mayes and Allie Humphry totaled 34 helpers, 14 for Mayes and a team-high 20 assists for Humphry. Ashlynne Clifft slammed down two solo blocks while assisting on two more.

Up Next

One more set of non-conference games await the Lady Lions before fully committing to Mid-South Conference play. A tri-match on Tuesday, September 13 in Jackson will have the Lady Lions facing Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) College at 5:00 p.m. and the hosting Lane (Tenn.) Dragons at 7:00 p.m.