SALISBURY, N.C. – The 2018 season drew to a close for Newberry on Saturday afternoon as the Wolves concluded the campaign with a 3-0 loss at the hands of Catawba.
 
The Catawba Indians (10-21, 6-14 SAC) hit .320 with 42 kills on the afternoon and totaled 14 aces in a match that saw eight ties and five lead changes. Catawba won the first set by a tight four-point margin before cruising to 25-13 and 25-15 wins over the final two sets.
 
Newberry went on a 5-2 run in the first set, punctuated by an Angela Gore service ace, to take a 17-13 lead and force a Catawba timeout. The Catawba Indians responded with a 6-1 run of their own, however, to take their first lead of the day at 19-18.
 
A Toni-Anne Whitlow kill briefly stemmed the tide, but Catawba countered with another 6-1 spurt to reach set point. Newberry got a termination from Angela Gore before ultimately succumbing 25-21.
 
Newberry was defeated 25-13 in the second set despite hitting at a .526 clip, committing one error and tallying 11 kills. Unfortunately for the Wolves, Catawba was up to the task, hitting .583 with 15 kills and a lone error as well. Newberry was unable to solve the enigma of Micah Ensor, who had seven kills without an error in the frame and helped Catawba to close the set on a 13-2 run. The Wolves were victimized seven times on Catawba service aces in the set and committed a pair of service errors.
 
The Catawba Indians closed out the win with another decisive margin, this time by 10 points. The Newberry offense was limited to a -.077 hitting percentage and five kills overall, while Catawba hit .206 with 12 terminations.
 
Whitlow and Vanessa Blas tied for the team lead with identical stat lines of eight kills on 21 attacks and a .333 hitting percentage. Each also finished the match with two blocks. Angela Gore chipped in six kills and seven digs.
 
Kensley Jordan showed the way defensively with 13 digs, while the setting tandem of Olivia Kozemko and Taylor Garrison had 17 and nine assists, respectively.
 
Catawba's Ensor had 12 kills on 23 attempts and hit .478 for the match. She also had three assists, a pair of aces, and finished two digs shy of a double-double. Jessica Walker had nine kills and hit .438. Morgan Hester contributed a match-high 33 assists.
 
The Catawba Indians clinched the No. 8 seed in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference with the win.