CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Fresh off her NCAA record performance against Samford on Wednesday,
Lara Newberry was at it again on Saturday with another career day in Chattanooga's (9-11/4-2) exciting 3-2 win over Wofford (11-9/1-4). The teams' defenses were the story in the match as both squads combined for 262 digs.
After being award a plaque for her breaking of the NCAA's all-time digs record before the match, Newberry put on an encore few could match with a career-high 51 digs in the victory. The performance breaks her previous record of 45, which she accomplished twice last season. The Lady Mocs took the match from the Terriers 25-17, 20-25, 27-25, 23-25, and 15-8.?
Newberry was not the only player that enjoyed a career-high performance on the day as
Courtney Barnes continued her strong play with 16 kills, which led the team.
Ashley Yeager,
Jessica Scott, and
Laura Nethery also had double-digit kills with 12, 11, and 10 respectively.?
“Lara is amazing, as were both teams today,” Head Coach
Lisa Rhodes said. “Wofford's defensive game was just as strong as ours this afternoon. This was a fun match to watch and I am just glad to be leaving with a win.”
In the match, the Lady Mocs were able to jump out to a quick 1-0 lead after taking the first set 25-17. Early in the frame, Chattanooga was able to overcome a 3-6 deficit with nine straight points to take the 12-6 lead over the Terriers.
Wofford would bounce right back however as the Terriers took the second set 20-25. Wofford's Shanna Hughes recorded seven of her match-high 20 kills as the Terriers tied the match at one.
After a 27-25 win by the Lady Mocs in the third, Chattanooga seemed poised to take the contest after UTC found itself up 18-10 mid-way through the fourth set. Wofford would not quit however, as the team would end up outscoring Chattanooga 15-5 to end the match with a 25-23 victory and force a decisive fifth set.?
In the final frame, the Terriers continued to have all the momentum as Wofford rattled off three quick points as UTC quickly found itself down 3-0. The Lady Mocs would answer however with five straight points of its own, sparked by a Wofford attack error. Barnes, Yeager, Newberry,
Michaela Huff, and Scott all recorded kills in the set as the Lady Mocs would not relinquish its lead to take the set 15-8, and the match.
Joanna Sudduth led all players in the match with 40 assists while Wofford's libero finished the match with 43 digs. Leading the match for the Lady Mocs in assists was
Cassie Conner with 31, while Huff ended with 21.
The Lady Mocs will wrap up its five-game homestand Sunday with a 1 p.m. match against Furman.
