LIBERTY OUTLASTS HIGHLANDERS IN FIVE, BRADEN SETS CAREER HIGH

BOX SCORE RADFORD, Va. – Despite having four players putting down double-digit kills, the Radford volleyball team fell in five sets (27-25, 19-25, 16-25, 25-20, 8-15) to Liberty Friday night inside the Dedmon Center.

Rachel Wiechecki matched her season high of 16 kills to go along with 14 digs to account for her ninth double-double of the season. Emily Carlin totaled 15 kills, while Rachel Fertitta knocked down a career-high 14 by attacking at 40 percent. Cheyanne James also made it into double figures with 13 kills.

Assisting on the majority of the attacks was Jena Braden, who put up a single-match career-high 58 assists. Anchoring the Highlanders' backline was Katelyn Meeks, who accounted for a match-high 24 digs. Yacine Meyer added 10 digs for Radford (13-14, 3-7).

Lillie Happel led the Lady Flames (18-7, 8-2 Big South) with a match-high 26 kills, while redshirt-freshman Caroline Douglas found the floor for 15 kills. Jade Craycraft assisted on 47 of Liberty's 63 kills. Defensively, Gabrielle Shipe was credited with a team-best 16 digs. Kendle Rollins contributed five total blocks for the visitors.

Radford jumped all over the Lady Flames in the beginning stages of the first set, leading 15-7. A 7-2 rally by the visitors pulled Liberty to within 17-14 and prompted RU to call a timeout. The Lady Flames were able to tie the stanza at 19, but an attack error by preseason conference player of the year, Loren Thomas, followed by a kill from Fertitta put Radford back on top (21-19).

The two squads traded punch for punch until an attack error by Rollins and a rocket sent from James found the opponent's side of the court for a Radford victory in the opening frame (27-25).

Liberty was able to establish an early advantage in the second stanza (12-8) before the Highlanders called a timeout. With the Lady Flames up 15-10 following a Craycraft ace, Wiechecki put down a kill, Douglas had an attack error, and Fertitta and James combined for a block to pull Radford to within two (15-13). With the score 18-16, the visitors ended the set on a 7-3 charge to even the match heading into intermission.

With the third stanza tied at 5 following a James kill, Liberty pushed ahead for an 11-7 edge. The Highlanders got to within 16-14, but the visitors mounted a 9-2 set-ending run to seize a 2-1 edge in the match.

The fourth frame was tightly contested with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage. Tied at 17, a James kill ignited a 4-0 spurt that put Radford in the driver's seat (21-17). The Lady Flames won the next two points to trim the deficit to two (21-19), but another kill from the freshman, James, sparked a 4-1 run to send the squads into a winner-take-all fifth set.

In the Highlanders' fifth five-set affair this season, Liberty took control early with a 7-1 advantage. A Carlin kill, followed by back-to-back blocks from the freshman tandem of James and Nicole Lambert pulled RU to within three (7-4). Wiechecki sent down a thunderous kill in the next exchange to cut the Liberty lead to two (7-5). The Lady Flames responded with a 5-2 surge to establish a 12-7 advantage, which proved to be enough to hold off a Highlander comeback.

Radford hits the road for its next pair of Big South contests. First up will be a battle with the Campbell Camels next Friday (Nov. 2) from Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C. at 7:00 p.m. From there, the Highlanders travel west to High Point to clash with the Panthers a day later (Nov. 3) inside the Millis Center at 4:00 p.m.

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