Each time the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions dropped a set, they bounced back victorious. Unfortunately for the ladies in maroon, the win-then-lose trend continued in the fifth set, with the visiting Saints of Thomas More (Ky.) University claiming victory 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 14-25, 15-11).
Freed-Hardeman (9-8, 2-4 MSC) looked good out of the gate with Bryce Morris dropping in a service ace to put her Lady Lions on top 8-3. But the visitors began to chip away at the Lady Lion lead until a 5-1 lead forced FHU into a timeout. From there, the Saints pushed to tie the opening set at 22-22. Three consecutive errors by the Lady Lions helped push TMU to win the first set 25-22.
The second frame began in a similar way to the first: the Lady Lions got off to a hot start by rattling off a 6-1 run to start the set. Thomas More (11-7, 5-0 MSC) would always answer the call, scoring points in bunches until the guests trailed by two at 15-13. The FHU momentum kept running through the rotation, eventually seeing Kacey Donegan throw down a kill to even the match at 1-1.
The middle frame proved to be the most hard-fought of the match. Neither team would budge to take advantage with the scores going level nine times and the lead changing six times. After a span of attack errors, the Lady Lions asked for a time-out after the Saints pulled even at 19-19. FHU was never able to come out of that break, giving up six unanswered points to TMU to drop the third set 25-19.
Short memories for the girls in maroon proved helpful in the fourth set, with FHU tallying eight kills while taking advantage of nine TMU errors. A pair of Donegan kills helped push enough points to force a deciding fifth set with FHU winning the fourth 25-14.
As though four sets were not enough to prove the evenness of the teams, the fifth set had Thomas More pull ahead for a few rallies, then saw Freed-Hardeman bounce back to bring the first-to-15 set within a point as the Saints led 9-8. Time ran out for the Lady Lions as three kills from the Saints put them on top at the end of the match with a 15-11 fifth set score.
Despite the loss, Freed-Hardeman out-scored their opponents 102-98 and out-killed TMU 46-45. As a team, FHU combined for 11 service aces but fell victim to 10 TMU blocks.
Donegan posted her fourth consecutive double-double leading all hitters with 13 kills and pulling up 10 digs. Bryce Morris patrolled the back row for the Lady Lions, keeping the ball alive after 20 attacks. In a 6-2 rotation, both Allie Humphry and Adleigh Mayes helped set up their hitters for success, dishing out 21 and 17 assists, respectively. Avery Harris and Ann Elise Jackson made their presence at the net known, stuffing five and four, respectively.
Original source can be found here
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