NEWBERRY, S.C. - “We have the potential to have a great year.” These were the words uttered by head coach David Nicholson prior to the 2010 season. After their eighth straight victory and third consecutive shutout, the Wolves (10-3, 3-1 SAC) are really beginning to believe that same thing.

Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) had another dominating performance and along with Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) and the rest of the pack, the Wolves were able to bite the Mars Hill Lions (5-5, 2-5 SAC), 3-0. The scarlet and gray have won 10 of their last 11 matches after a questionable 0-2 beginning to the 2010 campaign.

“We were able to go out there and get to them early tonight,” said Nicholson. “They pushed us at the end, and we really had to raise our level of play in order to get the win in the third set. I'm proud of the poise that we showed tonight.”

The hosts came out looking to tame the Lions early, getting kills by Staudinger, Sam Parrish (Angola, Ind.), Sarah Scott (Redding, Calif.) and Harris for six of their first 10 points. Mars Hill stumbled through most of set one, unable to find an answer for the Wolves multi-pronged attack. The Lions managed only six kills in the set and a Scott service ace and a kill by Leah Nye (Hoover, Ala.) would give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

The Lions changed up their game plan in the second set and were able to hang with the hosts. The score was tied three times in the early goings before Mars Hill started to find the offense it lacked in the first set. With three straight kills followed by a service ace, the Wolves found themselves trailing 10-6. A timeout allowed them to quell the momentum that the Lions had gathered and Newberry began to chip away.

The Wolves gained three points from a pair of Lion service errors and an errant attack and with kills from Harris, Nye and Staudinger would tie things at 13. The scarlet and gray stayed on the attack and opened up a 17-13 lead. The Lions only managed to get within two points through the remainder of the set and the hosts took a 2-0 lead.

After watching Newberry pick them apart over two sets, the Lions came out and pushed things into extra points during the deciding set. Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) would help the Wolves jump out to a 4-1 lead with two of her four service aces before the Lions shored up their defense. Mars Hill would accumulate three of their eight blocks on the evening to help them to a 7-6 edge.

Neither squad was able to gain more than a two point advantage until the Wolves took what seemed like a comfortable 21-17 lead. The Lions would go on to score four straight points, forcing Newberry to call timeout. The teams would trade points until the 26-26 mark where Newberry was able to capitalize on a Lion attack error. Lindsey Hollingsworth (Charleston, S.C.) would wrap up the match with a service ace to give the Wolves a 3-0 victory.

Staudinger and Harris would wind up tied for the match high in kills with 13 each. Harris would contribute nine digs and a service ace while Staudinger had four digs and a pair of assists.

Parrish contributed nine kills and made 14 digs while Nye had six kills and an assist.

The reigning SAC Specialist of the Week Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) had a match high 39 assists and completed the double-double with 14 digs. The setter also chipped in a kill and a service ace.

The Wolves will hit the road for a pair of matches this weekend. Friday (Sept. 24) will see them visit Carson-Newman and they will head to Lincoln Memorial the next day to tangle with the Railsplitters. Friday's match will begin at 6:30 p.m. while Saturday's will commence at 3 p.m.