MARS HILL, N.C. – Trailing 2-1 in the season finale, the Limestone University women's volleyball team got double-doubles from both senior Madysen Williams (Antioch, Tenn.) and freshman Paige Gardella (Sugar Grove, Ill.) while rallying for a five-set win over regionally ranked Mars Hill University on Saturday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 3, Mars Hill 2
Set Scores: 26-24, 14-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-11
Records: Limestone (11-12, 8-10), Mars Hill (21-11, 9-9)
Location: Stanford Arena
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Limestone knocked off a regionally ranked team for the second time over the last two weekends
• Williams finished with 10 kills and 23 digs for Limestone to go with a service ace
• Gardella handed out 26 assists and 13 digs while dropping four aces on the day
• Senior Vanessa Blas (Concord, N.C.) tallied a team-high 12 kills for the Saints
• Senior Bailey Carpenter (Lawrenceville, Ga.) recorded a season-best 35 digs on Saturday
• Junior Leilani Wilcox Nanai (Christchurch, New Zealand) logged 11 kills on the afternoon
• Freshman Josie Curran (Westerville, Ohio) added 10 kills and three assisted blocks
• Senior Madeline Yeager (Sacramento, Calif.) posted a season-high 10 kills to go with five blocks
• Sophomore Malina Harris (Mooresville, N.C.) dished out 18 assists to go with three digs
• Senior Gabby Wessels (Watseka, Ill.) chipped in 12 digs and a service ace
• Senior Madyson Lousignont (Las Vegas, Nev.) had five total blocks, five kills, and three aces
• Junior Abbey Baker (York, S.C.) ended her tenure in the Blue and Gold with seven assists

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Set
 
The Lions got off to a quick 2-0 start in the opening set, but a rare kill from Gardella and a massive hit from Curran put Limestone on top, 3-2. Mars Hill regained a narrow lead a few moments later, but the Saints countered with a long 10-3 run, highlighted by three kills from Wilcox Nanai, to move ahead, 13-7.
 
Mars Hill closed the gap to 16-14, but an ace from Carpenter and another rare kill, this time from Baker, bookended a 5-1 spurt to put the Saints in front, 21-16. Assisted blocks from Lousignont and Wilcox Nanai followed by an ace by Lousignont made it 23-18, but the Lions came storming back with a 6-0 run.
 
With the home team sitting at set point, 24-23, after six unanswered points, Williams kept the Saints alive with a huge kill before Gardella dropped in an ace to put the Blue and Gold at set point, 25-24. Limestone closed out the set win, 26-24, and took a 1-0 match lead behind an assisted block by Yeager and Curran.
 
Second Set
 
Mars Hill jumped out to a 7-2 lead to begin the second before a kill from Blas and an ace by Carpenter trimmed the margin to 7-5 for the Saints. The Lions would answer with five straight points, extending the margin to 12-5, but Limestone stayed within striking distance on back-to-back aces from Lousignont.
 
That would be the closest things would get in the second set, however, as the home team pulled away behind a 6-0 surge to open a comfortable 10-point margin, 18-8. Two straight aces from Gardella powered a quick 4-0 run for Limestone, but Mars Hill would even the match at 1-apiece with a 25-14 win.
 
Third Set
 
The Blue and Gold grabbed a 3-0 advantage early in the third, getting a kill from Blas and assisted blocks by Yeager and Curran, but Mars Hill rallied with a string of six straight points to double up the visitors, 6-3. Kills from Yeager, Williams, and Curran powered a 3-1 spurt as Limestone climbed back to within a point.
 
Trailing 10-6, the Saints kept the Lions in their sights as a kill from Blas and another by Yeager closed the gap to 13-10. Mars Hill took control though, using a 7-1 run to pull out to a 20-11 margin, and while Limestone would battle down the stretch, the Lions moved ahead 2-1 in the match with a 25-17 set win.
 
Fourth Set
 
Needing a win to keep the match going, Limestone marched out to a 5-2 lead to begin the fourth on kills from Yeager, Curran, Blas, and Wilcox Nanai. Mars Hill answered with four straight points to take a 6-5 edge, but an attack from Wilcox Nanai and two kills from Williams would put the Saints back on top, 9-8.
 
That would begin a back-and-forth between the two teams as the lead changed hands seven times, capped by two straight swings by Wilcox Nanai to make it 17-15 in favor of the Saints. Mars Hill managed to tie the set on three different occasions late, the last coming at 19-all, but back-to-back kills from Yeagar allowed Limestone to close out the frame on a 6-3 run and force a fifth and decisive set with a 25-22 win.
 
Fifth Set
 
Mars Hill pulled out to a 3-2 lead in the final set, but a kill from Blas started a string of three straight points as Limestone grabbed a 5-3 edge and forced the home team to take a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Lions countered with a 5-1 run to move back in front, 8-6, and it was the Saints that needed a timeout.
 
The Blue and Gold regained the momentum as a kill and an assisted block by Wilcox Nanai was followed by a solo stop by Lousignont to put the Saints on top, 10-8. Mars Hill would tie the set at 10 and then again at 11, but consecutive kills by Yeager preceded an assisted block by Yeager and Curran that allowed Limestone to complete the come-from-behind win with a 4-0 run that sealed the 15-11 decision.
 
TURNING POINT
 
Down 2-1 against one of the best teams in the region, Limestone went toe-to-toe with MHU in the fourth set before using a 6-3 run to close things outs and force a decisive fifth set. Trailing in the fifth, the Saints competed the comeback win as they ended the match by outscoring the Lions, 9-3, down the final stretch.
 
NOTABLES
 

• Limestone closed out the 2021 season by winning four of its last five matches
• During that stretch, the Saints knocked off two regionally ranked teams in Queens and Mars Hill
• Nearly pulling off an upset over Tusculum gave the Saints a shot in the arm down the stretch
• The Blue and Gold tied Catawba for eighth place in the SAC standings
• The Saints missed out on the playoffs, however, as the Indians held the head-to-head tiebreaker
• Carpenter ended her career at Limestone on a tear, posting 106 digs over her last four matches
• Saturday's five-set thriller closed the tenures of seniors Calleen Soper (Morris, Ill.), Sydney Bibby (Cumming, Ga.), Morgan Hnatiuk (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), Vanessa Blas (Concord, N.C.), Madyson Lousignont (Las Vegas, Nev.), Abbey Baker (York, S.C.), Bailey Carpenter (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Madeline Yeager (Sacramento, Calif.), and Catherine Hickey (Des Plaines, Ill.) on a winning note