AIKEN – The Newberry Wolves spilt in the second day of the USC Aiken Invitational on Saturday to go 3-1 in the tournament. Newberry swept Francis Marion in the first game and then dropped three in a row to USC Aiken in the second game.

Senior Amanda Soper had another extraordinary day for the Wolves, leading them to a 3-1 record for the tournament and a 6-2 overall record on the season. Soper hit .282 for the day while leading the team with 18 kills, ten against Francis Marion and eight against USC Aiken. The Wolves return to action Tuesday as they travel to Hickory, North Carolina, to open up South Atlantic Conference play against the Lenior-Rhyne Bears. The Wolves open up home SAC action next weekend with Mars Hill Friday at 7 p.m. and Tusculum Saturday at 2 p.m.

Newberry 3, Francis Marion 0 (25-20, 25-23 and 26-24) Boxscore
The Wolves used seven service aces and eight total blocks to propel past the Francis Marion Patriots in the first match of the day. Soper, along with fellow seniors Lauren Prachar and Holly Brisson, led the attack for Newberry. The trio hit a combined .340 for the match.

The Patriots held on tight to Wolves through the first set, but after Francis Marion tied up the set at 16, the Wolves went on a 6-0 run to propel the score to 22-16. The Patriots were not able to recover as junior Alexus Horton put away the final kill with the score ending 25-20. Prachar had four kills in the set and Brisson added a trio of her own to lead the Wolves, who hit .303 as a team for the set. Freshman Kayla Anderson picked up six digs in the set.

The second set saw the Wolves comeback from a 20-17 deficit and take right out under the Patriots, 25-23. Soper led the attach with five kills and Sophomore Logan Hayward added three errorless kills of her own to lead Newberry offensively. Senior Jessica King picked up four block assists to help hold the Patriots to a .189 hitting percentage for the set, compared to .270 for Newberry.

In the third set, Francis Marion gave Newberry a run for a fourth but the Wolves were able to avert it. The Patriots outhit the Wolves .267 to .194, but Newberry found a way to win. Soper and Hayward had three kills apiece while senior Elayni Stokes picked up seven digs in the set.

USC Aiken 3, Newberry 0 (25-22, 25-16 and 25-18) Boxscore
After taking down Francis Marion the Wolves had to quickly march down to the main arena to take on USC Aiken in the tournament finale. The Pacers just had the Wolves number for the match as Newberry really struggled to get the offense going. Soper and Hayward were the only players to hit positive in the match for the Wolves. Hayward had 10 kills and hit at a .286 clip while Soper put away eight kills with a .263 percentage.

Attack errors plagued the Wolves in the first set, forcing Newberry to hit negative for the set. Newberry managed to hang tough, but after Newberry closed the gap to 19-16, the Pacers went on a 6-0 run to close out the set. However, Hayward and Soper provided bright spots for the Wolves. Hayward had three kills in three attempts and Soper provided four of her own.
After quickly finding themselves down 8-2 in the second set, the Wolves chipped away at the Pacer lead, cutting it down to 17-13. However, the Pacers were able to pull out an 8-2 run to end the set. Soper and Hayward combined to post 67% of Newberry’s kills in the set. Stokes and Prachar combined for nine digs.

Like a reminiscent of last week, the Wolves showed some life in the third set. Newberry found themselves ahead 20-17, but the Pacers mounted a comeback and after a Prachar kill to take the score to 21-20, it was all USC Aiken for the rest of the match. Prachar and Hayward led the attack for the Wolves, tallying six kills between the duo. Stokes picked up five digs while the pair of King and sophomore Madison Darby-McClure recorded seven block assists.