GREENWOOD – The Lander volleyball team earned its second win of the weekend and and its second consecutive Peach Belt Conference win by defeating Francis Marion 25-14, 25-18, 16-25, 25-15 on Saturday afternoon in Horne Arena.
The Bearcats move to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the PBC, while the Patriots fall to 3-6 and 1-1 in the conference. Lander held Francis Marion to a .153 attack percentage.
“They were resiliant today,” head coach Ashley White said of her team. “To have that team take the third set from us and to come back in the fourth and show them that we weren’t just going to roll over, that was huge. That speaks volumes to the character of our team and our program.”
Sophia Perkins notched her fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 22 assists and 10 digs. Hannah Hritz led the Bearcats with 12 kills, while Kirstin Martindale added nine kills and 11 digs on a season-high .421 hitting percentage. Hannah McManus tallied a match-high 20 digs and five assists.
Lander jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening set and never looked back, hitting .480 for the set. The Bearcat defense clamped down in the second set, holding FMU to a .105 hitting percentage en route a 25-18 win and a two-set lead.
Francis Marion answered by taking the third set, but Lander responded. Trailing 17-11, the Patriots appeared primed to earn a lengthy point, but Hritz crashed into press row to keep the point alive and Imari Ashley slammed home a kill to give the Bearcats a huge momentum boost. Lander went on to claim five of the next six points and ended the match with a Dale Rogers kill.
Francis Marion was led by Georgia Garrison’s 12 kills and 16 digs.
The Bearcats wrap up a three-match home stand on Friday night against Augusta at 7:00 p.m.
