PARAGOULD, Ark. — The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions recorded at least 14 kills in all three sets of a 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-23) sweep over the Pioneers of Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) College Tuesday night.
The Lady Lions (10-4) used kills from
Marija Milic and
Iza Wos to run out to a 12-6 lead. The Lady Pioneers would build a wall at the net with three straight blocks helping them to take a 17-13 lead over FHU. Kills from
Avery Young and
Hope Breen would push the Lady Lions back to a 20-20 tie. CRC found themselves with set point twice, but FHU stayed alive until a service ace from
Autumn Howard gave FHU the 27-25 win in the opening frame.
A five-point push in the second set gave the Lady Lions an early lead when Milic and Breen teamed up for a block to give FHU a 10-4 lead over the Lady Pioneers (3-9). FHU and CRC then traded serves until the Lady Pioneers settled into a rhythm where they went on an 8-1 run. Milic's magic arm struck again when she had three service aces in four serves to give FHU the 25-17 victory.
The final set was a true back-and-forth affair with neither team taking a lead of more than two points. Luckily for the Lady Lions, one of those two-point leads came when
Catherine Hackett's kill made the set score 24-23 and
Audrey Orton's kill sealed the 25-23 set win and the 3-0 match win.
Fittingly,
Catherine Hackett and
Audrey Orton led FHU's offense with 11 kills each.
Avery Young helped out with six kills and a team-high 11 digs.
Marija Milic had three service aces - making her season total of 38 the best in the Mid-South and third-best in the nation.
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Up Next
One final leg of the extended road trip sends the Lady Lions to Florida where they will compete in a trimatch with Clinton (S.C.) College and Pensacola Christian (Fla.) College on September 20 before finally returning home to battle (RV) Cumberland on September 23.
