MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - A day after the Newberry College volleyball team won a pair of matches to open the Mount Olive Tournament, the Wolves were on the hunt to secure their first four-match winning streak in two years. With two matches that mirrored the team effort displayed in the first day of the tournament the Wolves were able to accomplish that goal.

Newberry defeated Millersville (Pa.), 3-1, in the opening match before facing off against the other unbeaten team in the tournament, Francis Marion. In a hard-fought four set match, the Wolves came away with the win, 3-1, to earn the sweep at Mount Olive.

“Millersville played us tough today,” said head coach David Nicholson. “They really forced us to be consistent and we were able to do that and get the win. We're starting to come together and that's a really positive thing to witness.”

The scarlet and gray got things started against a Millersville squad that had endured three straight losses during their stay in North Carolina. In set one the two teams traded points, neither side being able to lead by more than three. With the score knotted at 16 each, the Wolves got kills from a quartet of players to take a 21-18 lead. The Marauders fought back to even things up at 23 before Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) surprised the opponents with a pair of kills to close out set one. In a mistake prone first set, errors accounted for 23 of the 58 total points.

Millersville was able to limit its errors in the second set, and with the help of some runs was able to tie things up at 1-1. With a 9-9 score on the board, the Marauders rattled off five straight points before the Wolves called timeout. Newberry would never lead again in the set and wound up on the wrong end of a 25-18 score.

Not wanting to let the Marauders keep the momentum, the scarlet and gray came out in set three and put the kibosh on any sort of Millersville run. The usual suspects of Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Sam Parrish (Angola, Ind.) and Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) led a strong attack for the Wolves, who took a 2-1 lead via a 25-18 score.

The Wolves saw their lead swell to as many as six points in the fourth set before the Marauders began to creep back into things.

After Parrish and Leah Nye (Hoover, Ala.) made good on a block attempt to make the score 24-19, the Wolves couldn't seem to find the elusive 25th point. Three Newberry attack errors and a pair of Millersville kills made the score 24-all. After one kill each by each team to make things 25-25, Harris and Staudinger sunk the Marauders for good with two consecutive kills to give the Wolves their third straight triumph with a 27-25 tally.

Parrish led the pack with 18 kills and completed her second double-double in as many days with 17 digs. Harris posted a double-double as well, racking up 13 kills and 19 digs. In an impressive all around performance, Blakely made four kills to go along with 41 assists, 10 digs and a trio of service aces.

Newberry vs. Millersville (Pa.) box score http://newberryathleticsite.com/stats/vb10/new08.htm.

Newberry and Francis Marion would offer the most exciting match of the tournament as both teams had gone 3-0 in their previous three matches.

The Wolves (6-3) jumped out to an early 9-4 lead before the Patriots (6-2) called timeout to stop the attack. Unfortunately for Francis Marion, the Wolves charged forward and padded their lead. With the score 19-12 in favor of Newberry, Francis Marion began to chip away. After a pair of service aces, a few Newberry miscues and some well timed attacks, Francis Marion had cut the lead to just one with a 20-19 tally. Nye and Parrish picked up two quick points and Harris and Nye had a big block to help Newberry open up a four-point margin. Despite the set one victory being in sight, Francis Marion would snatch the victory from Newberry by a score of 28-26.

Set two was not one of the better offensive performances for the Wolves this season, but they found a way to even things up. Leading by six in the closing moments of the set, Newberry once again let the Patriots get close but a Patriot service error and a Staudinger kill would help the Wolves to a 1-1 deadlock.

After giving up the momentum, the Patriots found it again in the early goings of the third set. The scarlet and gray had to dig their way out of a 3-7 hole but once they gained the lead they would never relinquish it. A strong .302 attack percentage was the key for the Wolves in set three. Parrish and Staudinger would account for 10 of the 15 kills for the Wolves in the third set and helped Newberry secure a 2-1 edge.

The Wolves went into set four with the momentum, and they certainly didn't give it up. Newberry was successful on four of its first five attack attempts and earned a 9-6 lead. Francis Marion battled back time after time but the Wolves always seemed to have the answer. With the score tied at 19, Newberry used the balance that had been their calling card throughout the tournament to down the Patriots. Harris, Parrish and Staudinger had one kill each and Blakely chipped in a service ace which when added to a pair of Patriot errors gave the Wolves the sweep in North Carolina.

“Sam [Parrish] had a phenomenal match,” said Nicholson. “While she led the way, we had our fourth consecutive genuine team effort. This was a good win for us, and I hope that this is the start of something good as we return to conference play next week.”

All-around good play was a staple yet again for the Wolves. Parrish led the way with 19 kills 10 digs and a pair of service aces. Staudinger had 13 kills and three assists while Harris accumulated 11 kills to go along with 14 digs and two block assists.

Haylee Adkins (Birmingham, Ala.) had a great defensive effort, making a match high 35 digs to go along with a pair of assists and a service ace. Nye chipped in three kills and three block assists in another well rounded match for the senior.

Newberry vs. Francis Marion box score http://newberryathleticsite.com/stats/vb10/new09.htm.

The Wolves will have to endure one more road match before they finally come home to Newberry. They will face Columbia College on September 15. The match is scheduled to get started at 6:30 p.m.