CONWAY - Hendrix's win streak in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference is up to seven after a gritty 3-2 win over Austin College on Friday night at Grove Gymnasium.
Hendrix took the first two sets 25-11, 25-22 but, rather than taking the match in three sets, found themselves weathering a storm as the 'Roos mounted a furious comeback in search of a reverse sweep. The Warriors eventually regained their foothold in the match, outlasting the 'Roos in five sets to improve to 9-1 in the SCAC.
The Warriors turned a 6-0 deficit into an 8-6 lead with an 8-0 response in the first set, starting with an
Alexis Mahan sideout kill before continuing through
Chloe Staggs' service rotation with finishes from
Riley Brady and
Ana Bastos plus two Mahan/Brady blocks. After Austin scored to make it 8-7, the Warriors answered with another eight straight points to go up 16-7, with
Reghan Frazzetta serving for the final seven points of that run and
Addison Rud and Bastos putting away kills. The Warriors finished the set 25-11, closing it on an
Ava Burns/Bastos block.
The Warriors' key response in the second set came after Austin moved ahead 12-9, as the Warriors got back even on a Bastos kill and later went in front 14-13 on a
Mary Addisyn Stubbs kill. After Austin tied it at 15, the Warriors scored the next four points, including kills by Brady and
Camryn Kennedy and Bastos service ace, for a 19-15 lead. The Warriors closed the set 25-22, with Brady involved in the final point on a block of Mia Johnson's attack.
The Warriors were forced to chase the third set after Austin built an 8-2 lead and later scored five straight points to move from 17-12 to 22-12. The Warriors' clearest response came with three consecutive points on a Kennedy kill, a Mahan kill and an
Emma Blancovich service ace, trimming the score to 11-7. Austin closed out the set 25-13.
Austin put the Warriors in a 10-1 hole to start the fourth set, and the Warriors spent the rest of the set working back from that early deficit. The Warriors cut it to 12-7 during
Mary Addisyn Stubbs' service turn, getting an
Amelia Don block and kills from
Mariana Leite,
Chloe Staggs and Blancovich. The Warriors made one more push from 24-18 to 24-21 on kills by Burns, Don and Brady before Austin closed the set, 25-21.
The Warriors flipped the fifth set after Austin led 11-10, scoring four straight points on
Alexis Mahan's serve to move ahead 14-11. Leite and Burns combined on a block during that run, and Leite added the block on the final point as the Warriors finished the set 15-12.
Mary Addisyn Stubbs recorded a team-high 23 digs and added two service aces. Mahan tied for the team lead with 11 kills, hit .276 and added four total blocks. Brady posted 10 kills, 16 digs and three total blocks. Burns collected a team-high six total blocks.
The win takes Hendrix to 14-6 and 9-1 in the SCAC. They will host Centenary College tomorrow at 12:00 PM at Grove Gymnasium with a chance to claim their second-consecutive SCAC Blue Division championship.
