CENTRAL, S.C. - The Newberry College volleyball team pulled out a competitive win Tuesday night on the road against the Southern Wesleyan Warriors, 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 25-21).

Priscila Sales (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) had one of her best matches of the season with 19 kills, a .279 attack percentage and a season-high 16 digs. Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) also had a fantastic match with 16 kills, a .281 attack percentage and four block assists. Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) led her team in assists with 44 to go along with 10 digs. Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) was the third player on her team to earn a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs.

Both teams came into the match prepared to win and it was clear in a competitive first set. The first half was tight, but the scarlet and gray cracked the Warrior defense late in the set. Up 16-14, Newberry went on a quick 6-2 run. The Warriors didn't quit and almost made a comeback but NC finished them off to win, 25-22. The kicker in the opening set was the potent offense of Newberry. They finished the first set with a .351 team attack percentage, .062 points higher than the opposition.

The Warriors started the second set strong but were gradually broken down by the scarlet and gray. NC went on three different runs of four straight points in the second. Although the opposition played tough, the scarlet and gray defense was too strong and never let them make a significant run. Newberry went on to win the second set by their widest margin of the night, 25-19. Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) anchored the defense for NC and led her team with six digs. She would finish the night with a team high 17 digs.

The third set was the most dramatic of the night with one team battling to win the match and the other simply trying to survive. Although they could not make a significant scoring run, the scarlet and gray worked their way towards a 24-19 lead and were one point away from a match win. Not wanting to go quietly into the night, the Warriors scored five straight points to tie the match. The Warriors survived and took the third set, 27-25. Despite the loss, Sales had her strongest set of the night with six kills and an amazing .545 attack percentage.

The scarlet and gray could not afford to let the Warriors win another set and showed their intensity at the start of the fourth by gaining a 12-6 advantage. The Warriors stayed strong and managed to tie the set at 16-all. Tied again at 19-all, the Newberry squad showed their toughness by finishing on a 6-2 run to win the final set, 25-21. The key to the fourth set was defense as the scarlet and grey took the first lead of the set and never gave it up. They also earned a total of 26 digs, six more than the Warriors.

With the win, the Newberry College volleyball team improves its overall record to 9-5. Looking to improve upon a 2-1 SAC record, the scarlet and gray will face back-to-back conference opponents at home this weekend. They will start with Carson-Newman on Friday night at 7 p.m. followed by a Saturday afternoon match against Lincoln Memorial at 4:30 p.m.