BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Radford women's volleyball team was unable to secure its first win of the season, losing to New Hampshire and Indiana inside Wilkinson Hall on Saturday.
MATCH ONE VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE
Following a tough loss to begin the season on Friday, it looked like the Highlanders had shaken it off and come out firing, taking a quick 8-1 lead in the first set before NHU even knew what hit them.
The momentum shifted to the other side of the net just as quickly, however, as New Hampshire put together an 8-2 run to get right back into the game. Then, with the score knotted at 16-all, they scored 10 of the last 12 points to win the set 25-18 and go up, 1-0.
The second set played out just like the first set, as New Hampshire doubled its lead to 2-0 thanks to another late run that turned a tug-of-war into a 25-21 win.
It was all Wildcats for much of the third and final set, as Radford found itself in a 18-3 hole. The Highlanders did find a rhythm down the stretch, going on a 13-4 run of their own to get back into it, but it wasn't quite enough to erase the deficit.
Sara Johnson connected on a career-high seven kills and six digs while
Raella Papes added eight kills with a .316 hitting percentage, the most in her career since also recording eight against Presbyterian during the 2021 season.
MATCH TWO VS. INDIANA
The hosts of this weekend's tournament, the Indiana Hoosiers, showed immediately why the Big Ten is considered the top volleyball conference in the nation.
Radford was held to just one kill in the first set, falling behind in the match with a score of 25-5 in the first leg of the night.
The Highlanders looked much more competitive in the second set though, upping their output to eight kills. Team hitting percentage jumped up from -0.269 to 0.174 and kill percentage took a similar leap at .038 up to .348. Despite the turnaround, IU took the set, 25-15.
Sierra Moore and
Olivia Flanagan gave Radford a huge boost in the third set, finishing the match with six kills (.214 H%) and five kills (.444 H%), respectively.
UP NEXT
Coach Livingston and company head to Richmond, Va. next weekend for a tournament hosted by VCU. The Highlanders take on Georgetown and Iona on Friday, followed by an in-state showdown with the Rams on Saturday.
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