Goddard, Lilly lead Lions to triumph over Royals
The Mars Hill volleyball team (3-1, 3-1 SAC) downed Queens (3-2, 3-2 SAC) by a score of 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 25-20, 25-20) Tuesday night inside Chambers Gymnasium.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team (3-1, 3-1 SAC) downed Queens (3-2, 3-2 SAC) by a score of 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 25-20, 25-20) Tuesday night inside Chambers Gymnasium.
Mars Hill opened the game on a hot start, taking the first four points of the set. Grace Lilly blasted two kills in that span. The Royals battled back, taking four of the next five points, capitalizing on three errors from the Lions.
The Royals, later in the set, tied the game at 18 and forced three separate ties, up until 21-21. The Lions took the last four points of the set, including another two kills from Lilly. Jana Cuk added one. Lilly and Cuk each dropped five kills in the set.
Queens dominated the second set, hitting .312 in the frame, the highest of either team in any set on the night. Casey Tarvin recorded six kills followed by Logan Witt's five. Sarah Goddard led the Lions with four kills in the stanza.
Mars Hill trailed for a majority of the third set, but went on a 4-1 run midway through to tie the game at 15. Lilly knocked down two kills in the run. After a Queens' timeout, the Royals took the next two points, but Mars Hill responded with a 5-0 run. Queens committed four attack errors in that span while Lilly added an ace.
The Lions led for the remainder of the set and took the 2-1 advantage off of another Royals' error. The Royals committed 11 errors on 51 attempts in the set to hit -.020. Lilly and Goddard each posted four kills.
Mars Hill's fourth set saw the team hit .225, their best of the night. The Lions, tied at seven, went on a 6-1 run and never looked back. Cuk closed out the contest with her second ace of the set. Goddard recorded five kills while Cuk and Lilly spiked four apiece.
Goddard led all players with 16 kills and added 13 digs for the double-double. Lilly posted 14 kills and 11 digs to also record a double-double. Cuk added 13 kills and four kills while Ully Martins led all players with 33 digs. Sara Pasour led the Lions with 26 assists and collected 14 digs for the double-double.
The win marked the Lions' first over Queens since the 2018 campaign.
Mars Hill hosts Lincoln Memorial on Friday, March 19. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
