HIGHLANDERS NOTCH FIRST BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE WIN OVER HAMPTON

Saturday, October 5

Radford, Va.

4 p.m.

Radford University

5-10, 1-2Big South

Hampton

5-9, 0-3Big South

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Hampton	12	23	22	0
Radford	25	25	25	3

HIGHLANDERS NOTCH FIRST BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE WIN OVER HAMPTON

10/5/2019 7:12:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

RADFORD, Va.—Radford bounced back in their second consecutive home Big South matchup, this time against Hampton on Saturday to pick up their first conference win. The Highlanders' revitalized energy and effort, showed seamlessly on the court as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Pirates.

SET ONE
Jordan Coomes set up Stephanie Neast beautifully to open the match with the first points on the evening. Radford added on several more points with their defense causing some issues for Hampton.

The Highlanders never let up, keeping a very comfortable distance between them and the Pirates. Once Radford reached 20 points, they pushed heavily for the remaining five. A kill from Esmadar Tavares, ace from Maddie Lentz, a kill from Samantha Reitz, block assist from Mackenzie Meehan and Tavares, in addition to a pair of Hampton miscues saw Radford take the opener 25-12.

SET TWO
The Highlanders notched the first points in this set as well, via a booming block assist from Hailey Flowers and Kennedi Johnson. The Pirates responded with a pair of points, but Radford doubled it in their statement back to increase their lead to 5-2.

Hampton mounted a late comeback and cut the Radford lead to just two points at 23-21. However, Neast would not be taking any chances for her team and sent a booming ball back over the net. The Pirates tacked on two points, getting within one point of the Highlander. Tavares sealed the set with another striking kill to wall off Hampton, 25-23.

SET THREE
Knowing the situation, the Pirates increased the presence on the court and presented the Highlanders with a challenge to close out the match. The tick-for-tack set kept the opening moments within a point until Hampton stretched out the lead to 7-5. Radford echoed the opposition's energy and added two points to tie the game up at seven all.

The back-and-forth saga continued, with neither team being able to quite escape the clutches of the other. In the final moment of the match, Flowers increased the Highlander lead to 23 with an on time kill. The Pirates wouldn't go quietly into the evening, adding a pair to the scoreboard. The big time stand from Radford came via a Coomes kill and a huge defensive stand, causing a Hampton attack error to end the game at 25-22.

STAT OF THE MATCH
Four Highlanders tabbed season highs in an array of categories during the contest. Tavares notched eight kills to go along with a hitting percentage of .316. Coomes registered a trifecta of kills. Flowers concluded the contest with four kills and nine digs. Johnson joined Coomes with several kills and ended the match with six blocks.

TEAM LEADERS
Neast led the way with 10 kills with Tavares and Reitz adding eight and six respectively. Lentz paced the court with a pair of aces on the evening. Members of the block party were Johnson (6), Neast (3), and Reitz (3). Lentz (15) and Coomes (12) were the double-digit leaders in assists. Grace Green registered 17 digs with Flowers (9) and Lentz (6) also contributing.

TWEET OF THE MATCH

SET 2 • Radford 25, Hampton 23

Esmadar Tavares wraps up the second set for Radford. Highlanders lead 2-0! #RiseAndDefend x #BigSouthVB pic.twitter.com/18GdU5NhKC
— Radford Volleyball (@RadfordVB) October 5, 2019

UP NEXT
Radford will commence a three-game road trip, starting with a stop in Charleston, S.C. to take on Charleston Southern on Friday, Oct. 11th at 6:00 p.m.

FOLLOW VOLLEYBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford volleyball team follow @RadfordVB on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Volleyball on Facebook.