CONWAY, Ark. — Finishing their time at the Central Baptist College Classic the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions won both matches on Saturday. After toppling the Dallas Christian (Texas) College Lady Crusaders 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-16) FHU defeated the University of the Ozarks (Ark.) Eagles 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-13).
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Match 1
Freed-Hardeman - 25, 25, 25 (3)
Dallas Christian - 13, 22, 16 (0)
In the first set FHU (6-2) and DCC kept the scores close as late as a 6-5 FHU lead, but the Lady Lions went on a 6-2 run to jump out to a big lead. It was a six-point run down the stretch that gave FHU a 22-10 advantage before claiming the 25-13 set win.
The Lady Lions stormed out in the second frame to jump ahead to a 5-1 lead with a block from
Iza Wos keeping momentum on FHU's side. That momentum shifted when the Crusaders (0-6)Â won eight of the next 10 rallies - eventually jumping out to a 16-9 lead. Undeterred, Marija Millc stepped to the service line where she recorded three service aces before another Wos block completed the comeback to lift FHU to an 18-17 lead before riding out the remainder of the 25-22 set win.
Another huge start for FHU that included four
Catherine Hackett kills pushed the Lionesses out to an 11-1 lead to start the third set. The huge start proved insurmountable with FHU's 25-16 set win finishing the sweep.
Catherine Hackett led the kills for the first match of the day with eight while
Iza Wos and
Avery Young each tallied four blocks.
Marija Milic was deadly from the service line with five aces.
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Match 2
Freed-Hardeman - 21, 25, 25, 25 (3)
Univ. of the Ozarks - 25, 20, 13, 13 (1)
Meeting the University of the Ozarks Eagles for the first time in program history, the Lady Lions (7-2) dropped their only set of the weekend in the opener. An early lead pushed U of O out to an 8-3 lead before
Becca Heineman recorded back-to-back aces to keep the Lady Lion within three points, but the Eagles were able to reach the needed 25 points first to win the set 25-21.
The pivotal second set featured five ties and two lead changes. With the Eagles (3-3) leading by as much as 17-13, kills from
Hope Breen,
Morgan Jackson, and
Iza Wos helped push five straight points to take an 18-17 lead. With FHU leading 21-20, the Lady Lions recorded the final four points to knot the match with a 25-20 set victory.
Another close set in the third featured FHU winning six of eight rallies in the middle of the frame to lead 11-7. With Milic again serving, the Lady Lions stormed ahead by scoring eight straight points until
Audrey Orton's kill put FHU on top 19-8. Breen would later push the final point across to win the set 25-13 and take a 2-1 match lead.
Though the Eagles won the first point of the set, FHU scored the next four points while not allowing U of O to record more than two points in a row. Milic and Orton put a nice bow on the weekend by teaming up for a block to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Iza Wos and
Avery Young led the offense with 10 kills each while Young was one dig short of a double-double with nine.
Autumn Howard pulled up a team-high 14 digs while
Becca Heineman recorded 21 assists while
Alyssa Austin had 17 helpers. As if five service aces in the first match of the day was not enough for
Marija Milic, the freshman tallied six in the finale.
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Up Next
While not competing in Henderson again until September 23, the Lady Lions will be in West Tennessee next when they travel up Highway 45 to face the Lane (Tenn.) College Dragons in Jackson on September 9 at 7:30 p.m.
