BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. — In their final non-conference match of the season, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions were paced by
Teodora Dacic and her 14 kills in a loss to the Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) University Toppers 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-21) on Tuesday night.
Freed-Hardeman (12-16) was off to a good start after Dacic's first kill was followed by a kill and solo block from
Audrey Satterfield. The Toppers would later score six points in seven rallies to take a 9-6 lead. Late in the set, FHU scored three unanswered points on two occasions to keep within striking distance.
Becca Heineman's kill set the score at 22-19 before the Toppers managed to get the final three points needed to win the set.
In the second set, the Lady Lions mounted a furious comeback after Blue Mountan Christian (11-12) jumped out to a 12-5 lead.
Marija Milic tallied a kill before
Marija Cabadaj dropped a service ace. Heineman then scored back-to-back points with a kill followed by an ace narrowed BMCU's lead to 17-12. Two Blue Mountain attack errors preceded another Heineman kill that tied the set 20-20. From there, the teams traded points until Heineman's kill forced extra points when it tied the set 24-24. The Toppers managed the two necessary points to win the second set.Â
A final comeback was in the cards for the Lady Lions, who managed to battle back from an eight-point deficit. Down 21-13, Milic was joined by
Olivia Saint with kills to help FHU climb back with a Dacic kill forcing a BMCU timeout clinging to a 23-21 lead. The pause helped the hosts, who scored the two needed points to wrap the match.
Freed-Hardeman out-killed their opponents 36 kills to 24 while tallying six service aces to the Toppers' three.
Teodora Dacic was the only player from either team to reach double digits with her 14-kill night coming with a .267 percentage. Hanaé Bezerga led the Lady Lions with 10 digs, with
Alyssa Austin leading with 23 assists.
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Up Next
The Lady Lions will close the regular season with four Mid-South Conference matches. They host Campbellsvillel on October 30, Lindsey Wilson on October 31, and Bethel on November 3 before visiting Cumberland for the final regular season match.
