HARROGATE, TENN. - The Newberry Wolves volleyball team snapped a seven match losing streak Friday evening on the road against Lincoln Memorial, defeating the Lady Railsplitters 3-1 while recording a program record 16 service aces. They improve their record to 5-15 (3-12 SAC) on the season.
The Wolves got off to a very quick start as they won seven of the first nine points to take a 7-2 lead, forcing a Lincoln Memorial timeout.
Katie Ullsperger pushed that lead out with back to back service aces as Newberry established dominance from the service line. From there, the Lady Railsplitters closed the gap to within one point at 9-8, but the Wolves continued to battle and kept the lead for most of the set. Lincoln Memorial would rally to take a brief lead at 20-19, but Newberry would win six of the next eight points to take the first set 25-22 and take a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Railsplitters would jump out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Newberry then won nine straight points to take a commanding lead as they built off their positive momentum from the first set. After Lincoln Memorial won the next two points to close within four, the Wolves went on another big run, winning seven straight to stretch the lead out to 18-7. Newberry would go on to win the set 25-11, as Ullsperger once again recorded back to back service aces to spur them on. The Wolves then had a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
After Lincoln Memorial came back and took the third set 25-13, Newberry bounced back quickly early in the fourth set and took a 5-1 lead courtesy of a
Toni-Anne Whitlow kill. The Lady Railsplitters closed the lead to 6-4, but the Wolves responded with a 4-0 run punctuated by a block from Ullsperger and
Zoe Dinkins. Newberry continued to stretch the lead out as the set went on, as another Ullsperger service ace pushed their lead to an insurmountable 21-13. Although Lincoln Memorial would battle hard, the Wolves won the set 25-18 and won 3-1.
With the win, Newberry has recorded two of their three conference victories against Lincoln Memorial, with the other coming against conference newcomer UVa-Wise.
Match standouts included the aforementioned Ullsperger, who recorded six kills, an assist, and a program record eight service aces, breaking the record set by fellow freshman
Avery Webb earlier this season. Offensively,
Toni-Anne Whitlow and
Kylee Kanealey provided a strong presence at the net with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while
Zoe Dinkins controlled the net defensively with 10 blocks, marking the second best performance of her career.
Sydney Diaz also excelled defensively with 17 digs.
The Wolves will look to sweep their Tennessee road trip tomorrow as they face Carson-Newman at noon.
