MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Centre volleyball continued its winning ways on Saturday as the Colonels defeated the rival Rhodes Lynx in a wild four-set match to improve to 8-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Southern Athletic Association.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- Centre grabbed an early 12-6 lead in the opening set, but Rhodes scored the next five points, and from that point on in the set, neither team led by more than one point until the very end. All told, there were five lead changes and nine ties in the set as Centre fought off the first match point at 24-23 by scoring the final three points to take a 26-24 win.
- In the second set, Centre once again took control of the early stages, extending their lead throughout and taking their biggest lead at 20-11. Rhodes cut the lead to three at 22-19, but
Katie Hall and
Meredith Phillips blocked the momentum with consecutive kills and Centre took a 25-19 win.
- Rhodes used a run of six straight points midway through the third set to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point lead. Centre twice cut the lead to a single point, but could not get over the hump as the Lynx extended the match with a 25-22 win.
- The fourth set was tightly contest all the way, with Rhodes taking the biggest lead at 19-15. The Lynx held that lead and forced set point at 24-22, but Centre battled back as
Eleanor Davis had a kill and a block in a 3-0 run for the Colonels. Rhodes scored on Centre's match point, but with the score tied at 25-25,
Isabel Thornton gave Centre the lead with a kill and
Ellie Driver teamed with Hall for a tandem block to seal the deal on a 27-25 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Thornton and Davis each recorded career highs in kills with respective totals of 12 and 11. Hall added ten kills, while
Brooke Palmer finished with nine, highlighting the balance of the Centre scoring attack.
- Phillips led all players with 43 assists to go along with five kills and seven digs.
- The Colonels had an 85-78 advantage over Rhodes in digs,
Madi Barron led all players with 24 digs, with
June Padilla posting a career high with 20.
Lily Hendricks (17) and Palmer (12) also finished in double digits in digs.
- Centre held an 8-7 edge in aces, with Hendricks leading all players with three. They also limited their mistakes on the serve, finishing with just four service errors compared to 12 for Rhodes.
NEXT UP
Centre volleyball will be back in action on Sunday as they head to Arkansas to face the Hendrix Warriors.
