Lady Indians Defeat UVA Wise in Four Sets

WISE, Va. -- Catawba spotted host UVA Wise the opening set then stormed back to take a four-set win in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Saturday night at the Prior Convocation Center. The Catawba Indians up their record to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the SAC with the 23-25, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-14 win. The Cavaliers fall to 4-13 and 0-10.

Catawba improved as the match went on, moving from a .159 attack percentage in the opening set to a .391 percentage in the fourth. Kylie Morgan delivered 11 kills and 13 digs for the Lady Indians, while Ashley Johnson had nine kills and six blocks.

Raytchelle Miranda came up with eight kills and five blocks. Libero Gabrielle Kuzma joined Morgan with 13 digs, while setters Payton Medich and Dara Kane each handed out 16 assists. Medich added 11 digs.

Catawba led 21-17 late in the opening set, but Wise rallied. A four-point run tied the set then a kill from Adison Minor tied the set at 23-23. The Cavaliers would score the next two points on kills from Morgan Blevins and Minor to close out the set.

The Lady Indians jumped to a 7-1 edge in set two. Johnson had two blocks and a kill in the early going. UVA Wise would come back and led 14-13 after a kill from Blevins. Catawba would regain control, getting kills from Morgan and Morgan Pearson. Another kill by Morgan pushed Catawba up 20-15 and Johnson delivered a kill for the final point.

Catawba trailed 8-4 in set three, but pulled ahead 15-11 after a kill by Morgan. A kill by Jordan Gore put Catawba up 20-13. A service error had the Lady Indians up 24-19, but Wise reeled off four straight points before Morgan was able to kill off the final point.

Catawba stormed out to an 8-2 lead in set four and kept a comfortable margin the rest of the sest. A 9-2 run put the Lady Indians on top 24-13 and Gore would kill off match point.

Blevins and Minor each had 16 kills to lead UVA Wise. The Cavaliers got 15 digs and three aces from Cana Davidson. Wise hit only 8% and were negative in both the second and fourth sets.

Catawba is at home Wednesday to start a four-match home stand against Lenoir-Rhyne at 7 p.m.