Liberty University
12-9, 7-2
Winthrop
9-15, 0-8
Lady Flames Score 7th Straight Win, 3-1 at Winthrop
10/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Liberty volleyball team earned its seventh victory in a row, downing Winthrop, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21), Friday at the Winthrop Coliseum.
With the win, Liberty improves to 12-9, including 7-2 in Big South play. Winthrop (9-15) remains in search of its first conference win of the season at 0-8.
Winthrop outhit Liberty, .287 to .238, for the match, while outblocking the Lady Flames, 8-4. The Eagles led, 64-54 in digs, while Liberty held an 8-4 advantage in service aces.
Leah Clayton led all players with 22 kills, adding 10 digs. Clayton is the first Liberty freshman to post back-to-back 20-kill matches since Kendall Nichols in 2005. Anna Willey dished out 50 assists, her third straight 50-assist match. Willey surpassed Theresa Bream (1987-80) into ninth place in program history with 1,941 career assists.
Anna Gragg tied her career high with 13 kills, while Gabrielle Vess scored 11 kills. Margaret Latchford collected 14 digs, while Sirena Vorster served up three aces.
Winthrop's Emma Weakland scored a career-high 21 kills, while Kelsey Schroll posted seven blocks. Sydney Gunter sent down 11 kills, while Carlie Skelton collected 14 digs. Siani Yamaguchi recorded 27 assists and 12 digs.
The Lady Flames broke a 10-10 tie in set one, with Vess scoring four kills during an 8-1 Liberty rally. Winthrop rallied to within three points at 18-15 and again at 21-18, when Hannah Lackey served up an ace. However, Clayton scored three late kills to seal the 25-18 win for Liberty.
During set one, Winthrop outhit Liberty, .346-.250, while the Lady Flames served up four aces. Liberty's Vess and Winthrop's Weakland scored six kills apiece, while Vorster recorded three aces.
Winthrop built a 20-15 set-two lead, before three Eagle errors brought Liberty back to within two, 20-18. The hosts later earned set-point at 24-20 on a Weakland kill. The Eagles capitalized on their third set-clinching try, as Weakland made it 25-22 with a kill.
The second set saw Winthrop hit .316, compared to .108 for the Lady Flames. Weakland scored six kills, while Clayton and Gragg had four kills each for Liberty.
The Lady Flames burst out to a 6-1 lead in the third session, and never trailed on the way to a 25-18 victory. Liberty outhit Winthrop, .394-.278, during set three. For the set, Clayton scored seven kills.
Set four went back and forth, with 11 ties and five lead changes. Schroll served up two aces during a 3-0 Winthrop run as the hosts took a 16-15 lead. The teams then sided out seven times, yielding a 19-19 tie. Clayton scored three kills as Liberty surged ahead, 24-19. Gragg sealed the set and the match, 25-21, with a kill.
Liberty hit .220 in the fourth set, compared to .207 for the Eagles. Clayton scored six set-four kills, while Gragg and Winthrop's Weakland had five kills each.
Liberty will play tomorrow at Gardner-Webb, with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m. at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C.
