Tue, Sep 7, 2010 - [Volleyball]
HENDERSON, Tenn. - It was a battle to the end, but the home streak remained in tact.
The Lady Lions opened their 2010 season with a thrilling five-set win over NCAA Division II Christian Brothers (Tenn.) University on Tuesday night in the Sports Center, extending their home winning streak to 17 games. FHU hasn't lost in Henderson since 2007.
The final point of the match told the story of the way the entire night had gone with both teams making multiple quality defensive plays before FHU's Hunter Logan finished with a kill to the right sideline, giving the Lady Lions a narrow 15-13 win in the fifth set.
Christian Brothers (4-1) took a quick 5-2 lead in that final set before FHU rolled off five straight points - including three on kills by newcomer Sandra Montoya - to grab the lead. The Lady Lions still held a three-point edge at 11-8 until the Lady Bucs took four consecutive points to retake the lead by one point.
But Fernanda Ferreira evened the set with a vicious kill to the middle of the floor, and Freed-Hardeman finally pulled away by taking four of the last five points.
It was the first match in over a year for Ferreira, an all-conference selection and AVCA All-American in 2008, after missing the 2009 season with an injury.
Playing in front of a large and loud home crowd, FHU opened the match on fire in building a quick lead that extended to six points (16-10). The Lady Lions maintained that advantage for the rest of the set in taking a 25-19 win. That set showed off the off-season improvement of junior outside hitter Rachelle Prince, who recorded four kills.
CBU bounced back in the second set and took an 18-11 lead before Freed-Hardeman rallied back by taking eight of the next nine points to tie the set. However, the Lady Bucs were able to reverse the momentum and hung on to win 25-22.
It was FHU's turn to pull away in the third set, as the Lady Lions broke a 17-17 tie to take a 25-18 set win, capped off by an Amber Turner ace. Christian Brothers, though, evened the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth.
Montoya paced the attack with 15 kills while Sydney Rice followed with 14. Ferreira added nine kills with Claire Pennington contributing seven and Prince chipping in a career-high six.
The Lady Lions return to action on Thursday as the open conference play against Bethel (Tenn.) University at 7:00 PM in the Sports Center.
