NEWBERRY, S.C. – Senior outside hitter Natasha Bannister had a season-high 18 kills in a 3-2 loss to Limestone on Saturday afternoon. She also recorded season-highs in blocks with three and digs with four.
 
In the opening set, Bannister recorded the first two kills to give Newberry a 2-0 lead. Eight points later and trailing 6-4, freshman outside hitter Taylor Hall got a kill on an assist from sophomore setter Avery Webb. Hall's kill was the first of five-straight points as the Wolves surged to a 9-6 lead. The next 11 points switched between Limestone and Newberry. Limestone halted the alternating scoring streak and went on a small, two-point rally, but the Wolves still lead 14-13.
 
Newberry survived a five-point rally from the Saints and earned set point off a service error. With senior middle blocker Zoe Dinkins serving, the Saints committed a ball handling error and the Wolves took set one, 25-22.
 
The Saints won set two, 25-19, handing Newberry their first loss in the second set all season. In the second set, Dinkins had two block assists and freshman middle hitter Margaret McMahon had three kills.
 
Newberry had the first two scoring runs of the third set and were up 7-2 after two kills from Hall and a service ace from Dinkins. The Saints responded with an eight-point run and scored on 13 of the next 14 points, taking a 15-9 lead. A kill from Hall assisted by Webb brought the Wolves within one, 23-22. Facing a Saints set point, Bannister had a kill, but her attack error on the next point gave Limestone a 25-23 third set victory.
 
Webb opened the fourth set with a service ace. She had three aces and 43 assists on the afternoon. Hall and McMahon teamed up for a block to give Newberry an 8-2 lead. They extended their lead on the next point, 9-2, their largest lead of the match. The Wolves only allowed the Saints to have three small scoring runs of two points each throughout the rest of the fourth. Webb earned set point for the Wolves with a sneaky attack over the net for a kill. She ended up with four kills overall. With Hall serving, the Wolves won 25-14 on an attack error and forced a fifth set.
 
In their third tiebreaker set of the year, the Wolves allowed Limestone to burst to a 4-0 lead. However, Newberry bounced back and earned a 5-4 lead after a five-point run featuring a kill and an ace from Webb and another kill from Bannister. The Wolves were the first to reach 10 points, but lost a 10-9 lead and never regained an advantage. Limestone outscored the Wolves 7-3 over the final 10 points. Newberry scored three-straight points facing match point but could not complete the comeback and fell 15-13 in the final set and 3-2 overall.
 
FAST FACTS

• Sophomore outside hitter Katie Ullsperger recorded four kills, reaching the 200-kill milestone in her career. She also had four block assists.
• Newberry is 1-2 in the fifth set this year.
• The Wolves featured three players with double-digit kills for the third time this season. Bannister led the way with 18. Dinkins and Hall both had 11.
• Dinkins is averaging 1.18 total blocks per set this year, bringing her career-average to 1.11 total blocks per set.
• Newberry's 2.4 total blocks per set against Limestone is a season high.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
Newberry travels to Salisbury, N.C. on Wednesday, Mar. 17th to take on Catawba.