MONTREAT, N.C. – Newberry earned a pair of sweeps to open the 2018 season on Friday at Volley in the Mountains, hosted by Montreat College.
The Wolves (2-0) took a hard-fought match over Asbury (0-2) in the morning's first match before dismantling Truett-McConnell (0-2) in the second to run their record to 2-0 on the young season.
Newberry 3, Asbury 0
Trailing 24-21 against Asbury, Newberry appeared to be headed to an opening-set defeat to begin the 2018 season.
Toni-Anne Whitlow and
Zoe Dinkins made sure that didn't happen.
Consecutive kills from the pair forced an Eagles' timeout and sparked a 6-1 run, punctuated by a solo stuff from Dinkins, lifting Newberry to a 27-25 win in the set and propelling the Wolves to a season-opening sweep.
The Wolves hit .240 with 45 kills as a team, led by Whitlow's match-high 12 and 10 from
Angela Gore, while the Newberry defense limited Asbury to a .113 hitting percentage.
Following the first-set comeback, Newberry again found itself locked in a tight battle. Trailing 13-10, Whitlow was credited with a kill on an Eagles' blocking error. The play sparked a 11-1 run that saw Newberry take a commanding 21-15 lead in the set on the way to a seven-point victory, with Whitlow contributing three terminations in the stretch.
Dinkins and
Vanessa Blas were nearly unstoppable up front during the decisive run, accounting for three of Newberry's four blocks in the 10-point swing. The Eagles' attack was limited to an .019 mark in the second set on 53 total attempts.
The final set saw eight ties and four lead changes, but consecutive kills from Whitlow and Gore gave the Wolves the lead for good at 18-16 on their way to a 25-21 win.
Dinkins chipped in seven kills with just one error on 17 attempts to go along with her three solo and five assisted blocks.
Sidra Triplett hit .429 with eight kills, while true freshman
Olivia Kozemko dished out 36 assists in her first collegiate action. Gore's 12 digs gave her a double-double and placed her in a group of four Wolves to reach double figures in digs, paced by
Mary Siebert's 14.
Newberry 3, Truett-McConnell 0
The Wolves took care of the Bears for the teams second win of the day, fueled by another Strong performance from Whitlow. Whitlow had another match-high in kills with 13 while Gore added another 10.
The Wolves hit .370 with 46 kills as a team, 45 of which were assisted on. Kozemko led the way in assists once again as she had 32.
Kensley Jordan controlled the back court for Newberry as she picked up 10 digs.
Dinkins picked up where she left off, hitting .778 with seven kills. She also had a team-high three blocks out of six for the team.
Newberry found their rhythm in the second set, as the had a wire-to-wire lead that was fuelded by a 10-0 run. Newberry hit .481 in the second frame and hit .439 in the first two frames combined, compared to Truett-McConnell's .043. The Wolves also scored on four serve aces.
The Volley in the Mountains continue tomorrow as Newberry will take on Indiana Tech at 12:00 p.m. then play host Montreat College at 6:00 p.m.
