The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions defeated the Lady Pioneers of Crowley’s Ridge (Ark.) College 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23).
Audrey Orton and Cate Schroer were excellent on the attack through the first set. The Lady Lions never trailed and ended this strong set with a score of 25-17.
FHU (8-7, 0-2 MSC) stumbled out the gate as it dropped the second set to the Pioneers 25-21.
Freed-Hardeman stayed with Crowley’s Ridge (1-4, 0-0 AMC) through most of the third set, aided by two kills a piece from Catherine Hackett, Avery Young, Schroer, and Orton during the first ten points. FHU kept the pressure on Crowley’s Ridge with great defense that forced six attacking errors, which allowed the Maroon and Gold the set win.
After a strong fourth set, the Lions trailed 23-20, but kills by Avery Harris, Schroer and Young dashed the Pioneers hopes.
Young earned 14 kills in the road trip opener and had a .370 hitting percentage. Charley Fulton contributed 23 digs, while Alyssa Austin tallied 25 assists.
Freed-Hardeman will start its second match of the road trip weekend at Williams Baptist on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Back-to-Back
Non-Conference Wins
In their second match in as many days, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions defeated the Williams Baptist (Ark.) University Lady Eagles in a 3-2 nailbiter (25-19, 23-25, 24-26, 25-19, 15-9).
Freed-Hardeman (10-8) started off strong in the opening frame with a 25-19 set win, but the Lions dropped two close straight sets 25-23 and 26-24.
FHU settled in for the fourth set win 25-19, setting the stage for a winner-take-all fifth set against WBU (4-12)
The Lady Lions roared back and claimed the fifth set with a 15-9 victory.
Alyans Ruiz Rivera and Audrey Orton both had 12 kills apiece. Masey Kate Adams delivered 20 assists to fuel Freed-Hardeman in its thrilling five set win over the Eagles. Charley Fulton led the defensive effort for FHU with 19 digs, while Ruiz Rivera joined her in double figures with 10 digs. The Lions also notched 11 service aces.
