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Radford University Athletics

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Maddie Palmer
Radford Athletics Communications
3
Winner Radford RAD 19-4, 10-1 Big South
1
Liberty LIBERTY 13-10, 8-3 Big South
Winner
Radford RAD
19-4, 10-1 Big South
3
Final
1
Liberty LIBERTY
13-10, 8-3 Big South
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford RAD 26 25 25 25 (3)
Liberty LIBERTY 28 22 20 20 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

RADFORD DOWNS LIBERTY IN FOUR TO MAINTAIN BIG SOUTH LEAD



MATCH INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 3, Liberty 1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20)
  • Records: Radford (19-4, 10-1 Big South) | Liberty (13-10, 8-3 Big South)
  • Location: Vines Center| Lynchburg, Va.    

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Radford volleyball team bounced back after a tough first-set loss to take the next three and come away with a big road victory over rival Liberty Tuesday night.
 
The Highlanders snapped the Flames' eight-match winning streak and improved to 19-4 overall and 10-1 in Big South play, maintaining sole possession of the conference lead.
 
After falling behind early in the opening set, Radford called a timeout, trailing 15-10. Coming out of the timeout, the Highlanders stormed back with a 10-2 run. Back-to-back kills from Sydney Tekstra handed Radford its first lead of the match at 16-15. The Highlander lead was up to 20-17 after a Stephanie Neast kill, while teaming up with her freshmen counterpart Mallory McKnight for a block.
 
However, Liberty came back as Leah Clayton collected two of her nine kills in the first set, giving the Flames a 23-22 advantage. Maddie Palmer knotted the match at 24, teaming up with Amaya Rousseau for a block to give Radford a 25-24 set point. Despite quick reflexes by Kelby Jackson and Kaylor Nash on attacking attempts from Gabrielle Vess and Clayton, Liberty won the rollercoaster first set 28-26 on two key kills down the stretch by Vess.
 
Radford got off a fast start in the second set as McKnight (4) and Palmer (3) combined for seven kills, aiding a 16-11 start. The Flames got as close as two points on two occasions, but three kills by Rousseau helped Radford stay in front. After a Highlander timeout, Tekstra put down on a kill on set point to even the match.
 
The third set was back and forth until the Highlanders used a 5-0 spurt led by three kills from Palmer to build an 18-12 advantage. Ahead 22-19, kills by Neast and Tekstra and an attack closed out the set for the 2-1 lead. Palmer had five kills in the game, with McKnight totaling four. Palmer also had six digs, with Jackson recording five.
 
Another 5-0 run also gave Radford control of the fourth game, an 11-6 edge this time, with Palmer again contributing three kills, along with one from McKnight. The Highlanders pushed the lead to as many as eight before Liberty tried to fight back. However, Radford maintained control and got kills for their last five points, three by Palmer and one each from McKnight and Neast. Palmer capped off the match with her eighth kill of the set.
 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Maddie Palmer finished the match with 22 kills, giving her 967 for her career to move into third place in Radford rally-scoring history, passing Emma Deininger.
  • Palmer also added 17 digs, for her 14th double-double of the season, and recorded three aces and two blocks.
  • Mallory McKnight added 13 kills on 21 attacks, while hitting .571 and adding three blocks.
  • Amaya Rousseau chipped in 10 kills while recording a team-high five blocks, while Stephanie Neast added nine kills and two blocks.
  • Kelby Jackson led a balanced effort in the backline, totaling 19 digs, while Kaylor Nash added 16 and Emma Wroblicky nine, in addition to Palmer's total.
  • Haley Kleespies dished out 51 assists – her fifth 50-plus performance of the season – while adding six digs, three blocks and three kills.
  • After hitting .196 in the opening set, Radford picked it up for a .324 percentage in the second and finished at .256 for the match.
  • The Highlanders then limited Liberty to just .106 and .135 hitting in the third and fourth sets.
  • The Flames had an 84-75 edge in digs, but Radford outblocked the conference leader in that department 9-6, with six different players notching at least one assist.
  • Leah Clayton had a match-high 25 kills for Liberty, but only one other Flame finished in double figures.  
  • Radford improved to 2-3 on the season when dropping the first set.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "We got really nice performances out of Mal and Steph tonight. Liberty is such a physical and well-coached team, but I thought our kids held up well. ~ head coach Marci Jenkins
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford returns home Friday night to play host to UNC Asheville at 7 p.m.

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