LIMESTONE OUTLASTS ST. ANDREWS TO ADVANCE TO SEMI-FINALS OF CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

GAFFNEY, SC –The Limestone volleyball team outlasted visiting St. Andrews College in a 5 game nail biter to advance to the semi-finals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament by scores of 30-21, 23-30, 18-30, 32-30 and 15-12.  The Saints advanced to 19-15 overall while the Knights dropped to 12-25 to end their season.
 
In game one the Saints, tied 3-3 after the first several plays, took control and jumped out to a 10-3 lead.  The Knights rallied back to get as close as 10-9 before Limestone’s Melissa Thomas (Easley, SC) and Samantha Flannery (Acworth, GA)  both picked up a block to shift the momentum back their way.  The Saints went on to win 30-21.

In game two, the Knights took off to a 9-5 lead although the Saints fought back to take the lead at 13-12 on a triple block by Thomas, Flannery & Ashley Blackwelder (Fuquay-Varina, NC). The Knights stayed within two points until the Knights took the lead at 18-17 on an ace by Lindsey Stansbury (Morgan City, LA). The Knights would go on to win 30-23.

Galina Podolsky (Raleigh, NC) came alive for the Knights to start game three.  The visitors jumped out on top with a 5-1 lead before Limestone would regroup.  The Saints then cut the lead to 5-4 on an ace by Lynn Milam (Summerville, SC).  The Knights would then break away to a 12-6 lead behind Poldolsky’s 3 kills and 1 ace.  Tara Lemieux (Panama City, FL) would carry her team the rest of the way smashing the last two points of the game as the Knights pounded Limestone 30-18.

Thomas took over in game four for the Saints with 10 kills.  After three lead changes the Saints took early control and led for the rest of the game until Podolsky would spark a comeback for the Knights with a kill to put the score at 27-23.  The Knights capitalized on 8 Saint errors and a kill by Stansbury to take the lead 30-29.  After a Saint time out, Ashley Hubbard (Temple, TX) took control for the Saints with a kill and a huge block to put the Saints back on top 31-30.  The Saints would take game four 32-30 on a kill by Thomas.

Limestone finally found their groove in game five as they took a 6-0 lead and would switch sides leading 8-2.  The Saints and the Knights would trade kills for errors as the Knights cut the lead to one at 11-10.  The Saints would go on to win 15-12 to take the match and escape elimination from the tournament.

Thomas recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 20 kills and 14 digs.  Five Saints recorded double-digit digs with Courtney TaoToai (Norwalk, CA), Anthony and Milam all picking up 21 a piece.  Blackwelder would also add 11 digs for the defense.  Anthony reached a career milestone tonight surpassing 1000 digs.  Flannery, Thomas and Hubbard would combine for 19 total blocks as they controlled the net for the Saints.  Laura Kerrison (Charleston, SC) and Milam handed out 24 and 18 assists respectively.  Hubbard also added 8 kills and 2 service aces for an all around strong performance.

For St. Andrews, four hitters recorded double-digit kills as Lemieux led with 17, Podolsky had 16, and Stansbury and Kelly Williams (Laurel, MD) both chipped in 11.  Leah Davidson (Palos Verdes, CA) and Podolsky picked up 5 and 4 total blocks respectively.  Jamie Hayes (Gulf Breeze, FL) pushed up 44 assists.  Defensively Lemieux (21), Hays (21) and Stansbury (18) combined for 60 digs.

Limestone will take on Coker College in the semi-finals match hosted by Anderson University.  The match is scheduled to start at 6:30 pm Friday. 

-LIMESTONE-