WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. — The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions hit the court for their second match is as many days. The Lady Lions got the better of the Williams Baptist (Ark.) University Eagles with a 3-1 (25-11, 25-20, 21-25, 25-15) win.
Marija Milic opened the scoring for FHU (8-7) with a kill before
Ana Coker and
Allie Lowhorn teamed up to reject an attack. Later in the set,
Marija Milic slammed home back-to-back kills to make the Lady Lion lead 10-5. Milic was a force for FHU, getting a kill and a block assist in back-to-back rallies, later connecting for a service ace. Cabadaj and Milic closed the first set with consecutive kills - helping FHU take the first set 25-11.
The Coker-Lowhorn tandem struck again at the start of the second set, with their block putting FHU on top 4-1.
Teodora Dacic was up to serve and confounded the Eagles (7-8) by connecting for three service aces amid a 7-0 swing to put the Lady Lions on top 13-5.
Alyssa Austin picked up with service, tallying two aces in the middle of a late run. Sitting on 23-9, the Lady Lions expected to quickly conclude the set; however, Williams Baptist scored eight unanswered points before
Morgan Jackson put them out of their misery in the 25-20 set win.
As Williams Baptist battled to avoid the sweep, the third set was the most competitive, featuring 16 ties and seven different lead changes. Despite FHU putting down 13 kills, the Eagles took the set 25-21 to force a fourth set.
The fourth set began with tough competition, but
Cate Schroer began a run with service, setting up FHU to see a kill from Milic in addition to a Milic/Dacic tandem block. Milic chipped in with an ace before a kill from Dacic pushed FHU ever closer to the match win. Cabadaj scored the 24th point before Milic was the one to close to book on the 25-11 set and the 3-1 match win.
The Lady Lions are consistently swinging the ball better, collecting 49 kills at a .314 clip. On the other side, WBU's 33 kills at .121. FHU again led the service battle, setting down 13 aces to WBU's seven.
Marija Cabadaj led the offense with 12 kills on 16 swings with just one error - an astounding .688 mark.
Teodora Dacic was right behind with 11 kills.
Marija Milic led at the net with five block assists while
Cate Schroer joined Dacic with a team-high four service aces in the win.
Up Next
The Lady Lions have two more non-conference tuneups before beginning league play. FHU visits Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) on September 15 before hosting the (RV) Fisk (Tenn.) Bulldogs on September 22.
