Newberry, S.C. - The Newberry Wolves volleyball team (10-10 (4-8 SAC)) defeated the Braves of UNC Pembroke (19-9 (11-2 CC)) by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday in Eleazer Arena behind 24 kills from Natasha Bannister.
"This was really nice for us to turn over a win in a pressure situation," said head coach Ross Kessler. "We've had a lot of trouble with that over the past week and a half holding onto leads, and tonight we found a way to do that. In a couple sets we held onto a lead, we persevered through pressure situations, and that was really good for our team."
One thing would become perfectly clear throughout the match. The Braves could not stop Bannister as she would go on to have 24 kills and 12 digs, proving to be a dominant force throughout the match.
"Natasha has been solid all year for us," said Kessler. "She has been nigh unstoppable on the outside, and when she gets going it's a good night for Newberry. She had a good night tonight, and we're hoping she goes into the weekend with a couple more big performances."
Newberry would start the match off strong with a 5-1 run that featured multiple kills from Taylor Hall. The Braves would fight back to tie the score before being held off by a pair of kills from Bannister. The Wolves would then go on a 4-0 run that featured multiple kills from Margaret McMahon to push their lead back out to 14-11. However, UNC Pembroke would not go away easily, tying the score at 16-16. Both teams would trade points, but the Braves would use a 4-0 run to take the first set 25-22.
The Wolves would begin the second set with a 4-0 run behind more Bannister kills, but the Braves would fight back again before both teams would trade several points. However, the Wolves would use a 6-1 lead capped off with back-to-back kills from Bannister to take a 23-17 lead before Hall ended the set at 25-19 with a kill of her own.
The third set would start off back-and-forth with both teams trading points. Newberry would pull ahead with a 5-1 run, but the Braves answered with a 5-1 run of their own. However, after being tied at 15-15, it would become clear that the Braves had no answer for Bannister as the graduate student from Nelson, New Zealand would have three-straight kills to propel Newberry on a 10-1 run to take the set 25-16.
In the fourth set, it was UNC Pembroke jumping out to an early 9-3 lead, but the Wolves would not go away. The Wolves would slowly climb back into the set before going on a 4-0 run to cut the Braves' lead to one point. After going down 22-19, the Wolves would go on a 5-1 run to force match-point. The Braves would then answer with a couple points to earn a match-point opportunity of their own at 25-24. However, it was Katie Ullsperger who would prove to be the hero as the junior from Lexington, S.C. would end the match with a kill and back-to-back service aces, handing Newberry the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
Hall would also prove to be a valuable contributor with a 12 kill, 19 dig double-double. Avery Webb would also have a strong outing with 43 assists, 6 kills, and 12 digs. Defensively, Amanda Berecz would add 21 digs, and Zoe Dinkins had 5 blocks, two of which were solo.
"That's a big win for us tonight," said Kessler. "UNCP is doing very well in Conference Carolinas, so it's nice to get a big win as we move back into conference play this Friday."
Newberry returns to South Atlantic Conference Play this Friday as the Wolves travel to face Carson-Newman at 7 p.m.
