Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
NEWBERRY — In one of their most competitive matches all season long, the Newberry College women’s volleyball team (10-12, 5-8 SAC) came out victorious in their first match seeing five sets against Catawba College.
A tight battle was shown from the start in the first set, each side going back and forth with each other. Tied at 16, a 9-1 from the Wolves was able to cap off the set, led by two kills from senior Katie Ullsperger (Lexington) to take a 25-17 first set victory.
Back and forth the sides went, seeing mini runs from each side being answered by the others. However, Catawba had the last run, going 6-1 to close out the second set, winning 25-21 to tie things up at one.
Catawba saw their momentum roll into the third set at the midway point, but freshman Samantha Shaffer (Belle Isle, Fla.) was able to lead mini runs to bring the Wolves back into it. But Catawba made runs of their own to take the third set, 25-22 to take a set lead.
Sophomore Baylor Herlehy (Auburn, Calif.) led a start to the fourth set to give them the momentum, jumping out quickly to a 6-1 lead. Many errors from Catawba were what helped the Wolves get right back in it, helping them run away with a 25-17 victory to tie it at two sets each.
Senior Avery Webb (Florence) and her aces got the fifth set stated back-to-back and attack from Herlehy helped the Wolves jump out early. Up 10-9, a 5-0 run that started and ended with kills Herlehy gave the Wolves the fifth set victory and a 3-2 match victory.
Herlehy led the Way for the Wolves with 14 kills, with Webb having a huge day with 36 assists, along with three aces.