101 digs gets it done
The Lady Flames fight back against Buccaneers for 10th win of the season
The Liberty University Lady Flames volleyball team (10-9, 5-1 Big South) rallied at home after falling in the first set to defeat the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (5-17, 0-5 Big South) 3-1 on Friday, Oct. 16.
The Lady Flames lost the first set after committing eight errors and fell 25-19.
Eye contact — Digging out of a hole. Photo credit: Michela Diddle
“Everything was going against us,” Head Coach Shane Pinder said. “We were not doing the right things to pressure (Charleston Southern). We were making it really easy on them. We were just trying to find ourselves a little bit.”
The Lady Flames grabbed momentum after winning an extended second set that saw 10 ties and six lead changes.
“I thought that was huge,” Pinder said. “As the night went on, (we) settled down and started to do the things that make us successful, and we kind of took the momentum back.”
Pinder knew that his team needed to capitalize on the momentum that came from winning the second set.
“He told us to keep fighting,” senior outside-hitter Haley Jeffcoat said. “(He said) to keep our heads in it and keep our energy because we really had the momentum.”
The Lady Flames never looked back after coming out of the locker room, winning the next two sets 25-18 and 25-13 to win the match.
They were sparked by strong defensive play and quality performances by the outside hitters.
“Defensively, we had 101 digs tonight,” Pinder said. “That set the tone. That was the heartbeat.”
Sophomore setter Anna Willey finished the match with a career-high 55 assists.
“I think our outside (hitters) did a great job tonight of just putting the ball away,” Willey said.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Caroline Douglas recorded a season-high 20 kills and 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.
Jeffcoat earned her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 blocks.
As a team, the Lady Flames had 60 kills at a .213 pace compared to 44 kills from the Buccaneers at a pace of .070.
The Lady Flames stood tall on the front line and blocked nine Charleston Southern hits, seven of which were deflected by senior Jade Vorster. The Buccaneers blocked five shots.
The Buccaneers were led by 16 kills from senior Katrina Houston and 10 kills from freshman Addison Kaderli.
The Lady Flames returned to their winning ways after suffering their first conference loss last week against High Point University.
“(The win) is good especially so we can keep moving along in conference (play),” Douglas said.
The team’s mission in the preseason was to win the Big South Championship, according to Jeffcoat.
“It is always nice to win in conference,” Jeffcoat said. “We are working toward the common goal of winning the Big South Championship, and that (match) is just one step closer. That was a good win for us. We really had to fight for that one.”
Liberty will travel to face Big South foe Presbyterian (3-16, 1-5) Oct. 23 followed by Winthrop (8-13, 3-3) Oct. 24.
Dillard is a sports reporter.