GAFFNEY, S.C. - The Newberry College volleyball team split its pair of Saturday games in Gaffney, bringing their record to 3-1 on the weekend. Newberry lost a heartbreaker in five sets to tournament host Limestone in its opening match this morning. The scarlet and gray followed up the defeat with a win over the Coker Cobras on virtually no rest. The team moved to 5-3 on the season after the day's play.

Newberry got the morning off to a good start with an opening set 25-9 win over the home crowd favorite Limestone. The teams split the second and third sets, and Newberry found themselves in position to capture the win in the fourth. Despite having opportunities, the scarlet and gray were unable to pull out the victory and Limestone's fans nursed the Saints back into the match. Limestone used their fan's support to edge out Newberry in the final set by a score of 15-12.

Fernanda Frey (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had her best offensive performance of the season with 23 kills. Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) also achieved double-digit kills with 10. Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) had nine kills in the match. Freshman setter Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) led the team in assists for the second time in as many matches. She totaled 28 and Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) had 23 assists.

Newberry didn't have any time to dwell on the loss as they faced off against Coker College immediately after. Fatigue didn't seem to be an issue, however, as Newberry handled Coker in four sets. The scarlet and gray handled the Cobras in the opening two sets before stumbling in the third. Newberry quickly got back on track with a victory in the fourth to close out the day.

Newberry saw some its new faces leading the action against the Cobras. Freshman outside hitter Katie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) led the team in kills with 13 and Leah Nye, a junior transfer from the University of Alabama Birmingham, had 10.

Brianna Blakely continued her efforts to move up the all-time Newberry College record book with 46 assists. Harris led the team in digs with 16.

Newberry College travels to Greenwood, S.C. on September 8 to face the Lander Bearcats and will participate in the Alabama-Huntsville Tournament September 11-12.

Limestone box score

Coker box score