Conway, Ark. – The Centenary volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches on day one of the 2023 Hendrix Invitational hosted by Hendrix College on Saturday as the Ladies defeated Lyon College 3-2 and falling 3-0 to the host Warriors on Saturday at Grove Gymnasium.
The Ladies (4-3) started the day with the five-set win over Lyon and then fell 3-0 to host Hendrix.
Match one recap: Centenary 3 Lyon 2
The Ladies won the first set, 25-22 but the Scots evened the match with a 25-16 win in set two. Lyon continued its success in the third set, winning 25-14, but the Ladies responded with a 25-17 set four win and then clinched the match with a 17-15 edge in the fifth set.
Centenary finished with 72 digs, 54 kills, 49 assists, and seven service aces. The Maroon and White tallied four solo blocks, six block assists, and 68 points. The Ladies recorded a .261 attack percentage in the first set after finishing with 15 kills and just three errors in 46 total attacks. In the fifth and final set, Centenary recorded nine kills against three errors in 27 total attacks for a .222 attack %. The Ladies set season highs in assists, kills, and points and tied their single-match season high in solo blocks.
Lyon totaled 84 digs, 55 kills, 53 assists, nine aces, four solo blocks, six block assists and 71 points. The Scots' best hitting % of the match was in the third set when they committed just one error compared to 16 kills in 29 total attacks.
Sophomore S Meadow Smith (Mansfield, Texas) finished with a match-best and career-high 43 assists and added 15 digs. She also had an ace and a kill. Junior OH/DS Kiara Liedy (Sugar Land, Texas) led the way in digs with a season-high 24 (three shy of single-match career-high of 27) and added three assists. Junior RS Jaylin St. Martin (New Orleans, La.) had 11 digs, nine kills, two aces, an assist, and a solo block.
Freshman MB Bailee Henderson (Monroe, La.) had a team-high and season-high 15 kills, two solo blocks, and a dig. Junior MB Elizabeth Canady (League City, Texas) had 13 kills, three digs, an assist, and a solo block. Freshman OH/DS Mackenzie Haley (Orange, Texas) tallied 11 kills and eight digs with one assist. Sophomore DS/L Daly Nagot (Benton, La.) had seven digs, two aces, and a kill and senior MB/OH Robin Lemelle (Liberty, Texas) added four kills and two digs. Freshman S/DS Hannah Dimmel (Navasota, Texas) made her Ladies' debut and recorded one dig in her one set played.
Match two recap: Hendrix 3 Centenary 0
The host Warriors started strong with a 25-14 win in set one and then took set two, 25-20, and clinched the sweep in the third set by a count of 25-18.
The Ladies finished with 45 digs, 21 kills, 16 assists, three aces, and one block while the Warriors recorded 67 digs, 45 kills, 44 assists, seven aces, and three blocks.
Liedy had a team-high 14 digs with two assists and an ace and Haley and St. Martin each had seven digs. Lemelle had six and added four kills. Smith finished with six assists and five digs and Nagot had four digs and one assist. Canady added five kills and a dig. The rookie Henderson continued her impressive play with eight kills, an ace, a block, and a dig and freshman RS/S Victoria Larson (Royse City, Texas) posted six assists and a kill. Dimmel added an assist in one set.
The Ladies will wrap up the weekend with a third and final non-conference contest against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Sunday at 3 p.m.
See the complete Ladies' schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wvball/2023-24/schedule
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