SALISBURY, N.C. - The Newberry College volleyball team dropped its second consecutive match Friday night by losing on the road to Catawba College, 3-0 (18-25, 15-25, 18-25).

Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) played an efficient match against the Catawba Indians with eight kills, ten digs, two aces and an attack percentage of .583. Priscila Sales (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led her team in kills with 10 while Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) tied for the digs lead with 11 each. Blakely also earned a team high 28 assists.

Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.) had a phenomenal match for Catawba with 12 total blocks and nine kills. Melissa Powers (Bennett, N.C.) tied Sales for the match high in kills with 10 and also earned six digs. Setter Megan Courson (Statesville, N.C.) had a match high 34 assists, three blocks and seven digs.

The scarlet and gray were coming off a loss to Wingate and needed a big win to move up in the regional rankings. They came out to a fast start by going up 7-4 in the first set, but lost control of the set after that. Catawba went on a 10-2 scoring run that took NC out of the driver's seat. Although they played tough defense, the scarlet and gray could not get their offense rolling and dropped the set, 18-25. Blakely had her best set of the night in the first earning nine assists and seven digs.

The Catawba Indians stepped on the gas pedal in the second set and took Newberry out quickly. Tied at 6-all, Newberry gave up an 11-3 scoring run and was never able to stop the Catawba offense, which earned an attack percentage of .458 in the set. They lost the middle set, 15-25. Harris played well and minimized her mistakes in the second set earning four kills on six attacks.

The final set was no different than the previous two as the Catawba offense was too much for the visiting squad. Catawba gradually broke down Newberry by going on four separate runs of four straight points or more. Newberry lost the final set, 18-25.

Although the Catawba offense proved to be too much for the scarlet and gray, Newberry still played exceptional defense. They earned 49 total digs in the match, 10 more than the opposition and two short of their season high for digs in a three set match.

The Newberry College volleyball team now falls to 16-9 overall and 8-5 in the South Atlantic Conference. They will have a shot to bounce back Saturday afternoon by taking on Lenoir-Rhyne on the road at 1 p.m. They will return home on November 5 for a match against North Greenville at 7 p.m. Next up for Catawba (16-9 overall, 8-5 SAC) will be another home match against Brevard this Saturday.