HENDERSON — The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions bounced back into the win column Tuesday night with a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15) victory over the Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) College Pioneers.
In the first set, the Lady Lions (12-14) led by a lone point at 10-9 before
Marija Cabadaj's kill opened the floodgates where FHU would rattle off eight unanswered points. During that span,
Marija Milic tallied three service aces while
Audrey Satterfield was joined by Cabadaj and
Olivia Saint with tandem blocks. The Pioneers continued to battle, eventually narrowing FHU's advantage to 21-18, but the Lady Lions scored four of the last five points with Saint's kill winning the opener 25-19.
The Pioneers (20-8) answered in a close second set that featured 12 ties and five lead changes. With the match tied 1-1, the Lady Lions leaned on another extensive stay at the service line. Cabadaj led a run where FHU scored seven out of eight points to take a 10-6 lead in the third set. The Pioneers would have back-to-back blocks later in the set to eventually take a 15-14 lead, but consecutive kills from
Teodora Dacic put FHU back in the lead. The Lady Lion depth paid off in the late stretch of the third set, with Dacic being joined by
Morgan Jackson and
Ana Coker for kills. A Milic service ace won the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 match lead.
Neither team could get a foothold at the start of the fourth set, trading serves on eight consecutive rallies. The Lady Lions began to pull away when Dacic's ace was followed by back-to-back kills from Coker to help the Lady Lions score seven out of eight points. Cabadaj landed a kill to put an end to the home match, winning the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
The Lady Lions nearly doubled up the Pioneers in points and kills while overwhelming the opposition with 16 service aces to CRC's four.
Marija Cabadaj led all hitters with a double-double of 18 kills and 11 digs. On her heels was
Teodora Dacic who finished with 13 kills and nine digs.
Hanaé Bezerga led the back row with 14 digs, while
Becca Heineman led with 26 assists.
Audrey Satterfield had a part in three blocks, while
Marija Milic and
Olivia Saint each assisted on two blocks.
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Up Next
The Lady Lions will have a short road non-conference road trip where they will visit the Fisk (Tenn.) University Bulldogs on October 22 before visiting the Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) University Toppers on October 27.
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