BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Despite a season-high 14 kills from freshman Mariah Nussbaum (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) and taking the opening game, Radford fell to Liberty 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-21 ) in Big South volleyball action Tuesday evening at the Dedmon Center.

The loss drops the Highlanders to 11-14 and 1-8 in league play, while Liberty moves to 12-9 and 7-2 with its 17th straight win over Radford.

To go along with her seventh double-digit kills performance of the 2009 campaign, Nussbaum also paced the Highlanders with a .379 attack percentage. Fellow freshman Desiree Aramburu (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) set up 44 of Radford's 49 kills, while Katelyn Meeks (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) was one of four Radford players to hit the 10-dig plateau, contributing 19.

Game one featured seven ties and five lead changes before the Highlanders closed with three unanswered, including back-to-back service aces from Meeks to take the opener, 25-23. Nussbaum led both clubs in the frame with a .500 hitting percentage while finding the floor with five of Radford's 14 kills.

Liberty jumped out to a 12-6 advantage in the second and didn't allow the Highlanders closer than four (18-14) the rest of the way.

Trailing 13-9 in game three, Liberty erased its largest deficit of the match with an 11-2 run en route to a 25-20 victory and two games to one lead. The Flames added 14 more kills in the third, while Radford connected on 15 of its swings, but finished with just a .119 clip.

Much like game one, the two teams traded points (seven ties / four lead changes) to find themselves deadlocked late in the final frame. With the score knotted 18-18, Liberty reeled off three straight points and never looked back.

Nicki Scripko, who entered as the top attacker in the Big South, added to her league-leading total with 15 kills. Chelaine McCarty and Loren Thomas also connected on double-digit kills for Liberty with 11 and 10, respectively, while Courtney Boggs led both setters with 45 assists. To go along with eight kills, the Flames' Karyl Bacon finished with a match-high 30 digs.

Liberty outhit the Highlanders .269 to .124 and finished with a 7-4 margin in total blocks.

Despite the setback, Radford tallied seven service aces, including two each from Aramburu and Meeks.

Radford returns to the court Friday evening when it travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a 7 p.m. match against Gardner-Webb.