RADFORD HOLDS OFF LIBERTY FOR FOURTH BIG SOUTH WIN

Tuesday, September 27

RADFORD

7:00 PM

Radford University

13-3, 4-0BSC

Liberty

5-9, 0-2BSC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Liberty	19	20	25	25	9	2
Radford	25	25	20	23	15	3

Photo by: Radford Athletics Communications

RADFORD HOLDS OFF LIBERTY FOR FOURTH BIG SOUTH WIN

9/27/2016 10:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

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MATCH INFORMATION

Score: Radford 3, Liberty 2 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 15-9)
Records: Radford (13-3, 4-0 Big South) | Liberty (5-9, 0-2 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center| Radford, Va.

RADFORD, Va. – For the third time this season, Radford was taken to the fifth set as the Highlanders held off a Liberty comeback for a 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 15-9) win as the Highlanders received a balanced attack for its fourth consecutive Big South win to start the season.

The opening set saw the two Commonwealth foes trade points earlier, before the Highlanders went on a five-kill run to take a 17-14 lead. During the span, Valerie Gonzalez and Sydney Tekstra collected two kills each. The Flames attempted to chip into the lead, but the Highlander defense was too much, fending off the Liberty attack. Tekstra finished off the set with her fourth and fifth kills for the 25-19 opening win.

In the second set, Liberty opened with an 8-7 lead, before Radford quickly regained the lead. Kills by Maddie Palmer and Amaya Rousseau sparked a run and the duo combined for a block to give the Highlanders a 13-9 lead. The Highlanders followed with a 6-2 run, forcing Liberty to call a timeout, trailing 21-16. Needing only four points for the set victory, Radford used an attacking error with Palmer and Rousseau combining for three kills to put away the 25-20 win.

Despite only hitting .086 in the third set, Liberty rode a balanced attack of five players with two-plus kills in the set for a comeback 25-20 victory. The Flames collected six of their 15 blocks in the set, with Casey Goodwin assisting on four of them.

Riding momentum gained from the third set win, Liberty jumped out to another early lead. The Highlanders battled back as Haley Kleespies set up a dig off the hands of Kelby Jackson for a Mallory McKnight kill to knot the match at seven. Radford would change the momentum, taking a 10-7 lead on two Liberty errors and a Palmer kill.

Coming out of a timeout, Liberty saw the deficit increase to 14-10, before tying the match twice as the Flames looked to string together another comeback. Leah Clayton gave Liberty its first lead since the 7-6 mark with back-to-back kills for a 22-21 advantage. The Highlanders tied it up two times, but Payton Carter and Clayton came up with a pair of kills to force the decisive fifth set.

The Highlanders charged out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth before the Flames called a quick timeout. Coming into the match for the first time, Stephanie Neast made an immediate impact with two straight kills, giving Radford a 6-2 edge. Radford then got consecutive blocks for a 10-5 lead. Coming into the set with 17 kills, Clayton fired shot after shot at the Highlander backline, but was unable to shake the beat the backline defense of Kaylor Nash and Jackson. Holding off a late attack, Radford picked up its fourth Big South victory as Palmer and Rousseau collected their 14th kills of the match for back-to-back points, securing the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Radford improves to 12-0 when winning the opening set.
The Highlanders placed a season-high four players in double-figure kills.
Maddie Palmer and Amaya Rousseau led the way with a team-high 14 kills.
Finishing with a season-high 13 kills, Sydney Tekstra collected her second double-digit outing of the season.
Mallory McKnight also continued her strong freshman campaign, finishing with 10 kills for her fourth double-figure kill performance.
Radford opened with a .387 attacking percentage and 17 kills in the first set.
Of RU's 61 kills, Haley Kleespies assisted on 56 for her second 50-assist performance of the season and ninth of career. The 56 assists are a season high for the sophomore.
The Highlanders edged the Flames in digs, 54-52, in a match that saw the teams combine for 321 attacks.
Palmer also had match-high 15 digs, giving her 10 double-doubles on the season. She moves into sole possession of fourth place in program history during the rally scoring era with 26.
Kaylor Nash followed with 12 digs and Kelby Jackson chipped in 11.
Jackson's career dig total now stands at 1,434. She is 28 away from second place in program history during the rally era.
Leah Clayton paced Liberty with a season-high 19 kills in her first action since Sept. 3.
Liberty won the block battle, finishing with 15 blocks, compared to Radford's eight. Kaniah Williams assisted on seven blocks, while Anna Gragg and Casey Goodwin assisted on six each.

QUOTABLE

"We found a way tonight to pull out another win against a tough opponent. I thought Liberty did a really nice job of putting us on our heels in sets three and four. Our kids did a great job of battling back in the fifth set." ~ head coach Marci Jenkins

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