MARS HILL, N.C. � In a tough match that featured 27 tie scores and 14 lead changes, Mars Hill pulled the improbable upset over Newberry, 3-2, in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night. Cara Coleman led the Indians with 16 kills and eight block assists while Laurie Barman added 13 kills. Game scores were 21-30, 30-19, 30-22, 20-20 and 13-15.

Four Indians (11-12, 5-5 South Atlantic) recorded double digit kills as Jamie Foster-Mann and Tonya Deese each added 10 kills. Rebekka Brown led Mars Hill (11-17, 2-8 South Atlantic) with 20 kills as the Lions also had four players with double digit kills. Ashley Beasley added 17 for Mars Hill while Jennifer Johnson added 13 and Rebecca King notched 11.

The Indians game one woes continued as they fell to Mars Hill in the first set, 30-21. Newberry has not won a first game since sweeping Tusculum on Oct. 8. The Lions outhit Newberry .308 to .043 and recorded four blocks to the Indians� one. Rebecca King and Rebekka Brown led the Lions with six kills apiece while Coleman led Newberry with four kills and Barman notched three.

The Indians fought back to tie the match with a 30-19 game two victory. Newberry�s offense came alive, hitting .286 while the Indian defense shut down Mars Hill�s offense, forcing the Lions to hit -.026. The Indian defense recorded four total blocks to Mars Hill�s one with Coleman recording three block assists. Jessica Lipsi led Newberry in kills with three while King and Ashley Beasley each recorded three kills for the Lions.

Newberry fought through and won a tough game three, 30-27. The Indians defense continued to mount a brick wall, recording four total blocks while the Lions did not record a block during the game. Coleman engineered the blocking defense with four block assists in the game. Barman led Newberry with three kills while Beasley led Mars Hill with six kills and Rebekkah Brown added five.

Mars Hill jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead in game four on a 7-0 run that featured four service aces by Tiffany Oreka. But the Indians battled back behind the serving of Lipsi to pull within two. The two teams continued to battle back and forth throughout the game until Mars Hill ended the game on an 8-3 run capped off by a Brown kill giving the Lions the 30-20 game four victory and tying the match at two.

The teams battled back and forth to a 10-10 tie before Mars Hill put the Indians at match point on a 4-0 run. Newberry battled back to make the match 14-13 but a Brown kill sealed the upset victory for Mars Hill.

Newberry will play at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday at 1 p.m. with live stats available at NewberryIndians.com. Mars Hill looks to pull another conference upset as they host Presbyterian College at 1 p.m.

                            Short Box Score (Match)
                        2005 Newberry Indian Volleyball
     Newberry Indians vs Mars Hill Lions (Oct 21, 2005 at Mars Hill, N.C.)

  Mars Hill Lions def. Newberry Indians 30-21,19-30,27-30,30-20,15-13

  Newberry Indians (11-12, 5-5 SAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Cara Coleman
  16-2-8; Laurie Barman 13-1-2; Jamie Foster-Mann 10-1-3; Tonya Deese
  10-0-1; Kristin Pulone 5-1-4; Jessica Lipsi 3-1-0; Alicia Khoury
  3-0-3; Totals 60-6-11.0. (Assists) - Alicia Khoury 50. (Dig leaders) -
  Kristin Pulone 23; Jessica Lipsi 15; Christy Stegall 13; Cara Coleman
  11; Alicia Khoury 11; Katie Stone 10; Tonya Deese 8

  Mars Hill Lions (11-17, 2-8 SAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rebekka Brown
  20-0-2; Ashley Beasley 17-1-1; Jennifer Johnson 13-0-2; Rebecca King
  11-1-0; Jessica Britt 3-1-1; Jhane' Zarghami 3-0-4; Tiffany Oreka
  0-5-0; Totals 67-8-6.0. (Assists) - Jessica Britt 54. (Dig leaders) -
  Ashley Beasley 23; Tiffany Oreka 22; Rebecca King 20; Jessica Britt
  13; Sara Cole 11

  Site: Mars Hill, N.C. (Stanford Arena)
  Date: Oct 21, 2005   Attend: 153   Time: 2:13   
  Referees: Dianne Penner, Deirdre Brown