YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Young Harris College Volleyball picked up their first win of the season, 3-1 over Barton on Friday night.
Kathryn Urbanek and
Abby Schirm led the Mountain Lions. Urbanek led the team with six blocks, recorded seven kills, and finished the match with a .438 hitting percentage. Schirm had a team-high of 14 kills on 34 total attacks.
Lyza Thigpen put up a game-high 40 assists.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JENNY MICHAEL:
"Tonight was a battle; both teams are better than their records would suggest. Celebration must be short-lived as we must refocus our attention to tomorrow and another opportunity to get 1% better."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Young Harris held strong late in the first set to open the match with the 25-23 victory. Barton jumped out to a quick 8-3 advantage.
Nicole Klucharich and
Shelby Mullins combined for three straight points to shrink the deficit. The back-and-forth battle continued as Joha Bernice registered a service ace to tie the match at 15. Young Harris found themselves again in a close game late in the set. This time, the Mountain Lions rallied and scored in key moments to take the first set.
Kathryn Urbanek and Schirm found the hardwood to put YHC ahead 23-19. Barton stormed back and got within a point, 24-23. Schirm got the final kill, which put Young Harris up 1-0.
The second set was another close one, with Barton claiming the 25-22 victory to tie the match at one.
Lily Hidalgo went on a scoring tear for the Mountain Lions, recording five kills in the first twelve points for YHC. Schirm capitalized on a big swing and, one point later, the Mountain Lions tied the set at 18. Despite the solid offense from Klucharich, Mullins, Schirm, and Hidalgo, Barton scored nine of the last eleven points to take the second set.
Barton held an early 6-3 advantage in the pivotal third set. That lead didn't last long. Young Harris rattled off eight straight points, which put them ahead 16-9.
Lyza Thigpen assisted on seven of the eight points during the run. Schirm scored,
Chase Vaigneur had a service ace, and Klucharich recorded a key block all of which extended the Mountain Lions lead to nine, 19-10. Barton's Bailey McIntyre led the comeback for the Bulldogs, which tied the score at 23. Urbanek came up with the most important two points of the match, recording two kills to secure the third set victory bringing the Mountain Lions to the brink of their first win.
The fourth set was another competitive one and Barton wouldn't back down.
Lyza Thigpen launched a great serve over the net that found the court for a service ace, making it 9-8. YHC answered Barton's scoring run with one of their own scoring four in a row to go up 18-17. Klucharich tallied two kills and Mullins tacked on another, extending Young Harris' lead to 23-21 late in the fourth set. Barton scored two in a row to tie it at 23. Thigpen found Mullins for the kill, which set up match point. The Mountain Lions weathered a long rally to secure match point and the first victory of the season.
UP NEXT:
Young Harris takes this momentum into tomorrow's match against Chowan in the Harp at 1:00 p.m.
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