ROANOKE, Va. – Averett University women's volleyball opened the month of October with a 3-0 ODAC loss at Hollins University on Tuesday night.
Hollins (5-10, 1-4 ODAC) jumped out to a 8-1 lead in the opening set. Despite some valiant resistance from Averett (1-10, 1-5 ODAC), the home side claimed the 25-15 win, and the match lead.
The Cougars rebounded with a strong 10-6 second set lead, on the back of three kills from freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist
Hannah Sachs, and two kills from senior outside hitter
Allie Lane. Senior outside Hitter
Tahani Villines added a pair of her own to aid a 13-9 advantage later on, but Hollins rallied with a 9-1 run, and the scoreboard flipped to 18-14 in the home team's favor.
Averett made things close, as Hollins' lead was cut to two at 21-19, but the home side closed the set on a 4-2 run.
Similarly to the previous stanza, the Cougars amassed a three-point lead at 6-3 in the third period. Led by junior middle hitter/right side
Emily Phillips and her two kills, the driver's seat belonged to the visitors. Hollins quickly turned the set around, as it won seven of the next nine points, then the two sides consistently traded points back and forth until the 17-17 mark.
Four consecutive points from Hollins brought them up to a 21-17 lead, and would not be relinquished as the home team finished the set of 25-18, and completed the sweep.
Atop the team kill leaderboard for the first time in her career was Sachs, as she recorded seven in the defeat, along with four digs. Freshman setter
Hannah Batista had 12 assists, five digs, and three aces; and Villines led the Cougars in digs overall with nine. She also tied for the most block assists on the team with three, alongside Lane.
Averett next plays at No. 23 Batten University on Friday, Oct. 9. Start time is set for 7 p.m.
