Box Score LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Heidelberg University volleyball team blocked its way back to .500 with a 3-1 win over Bowdoin College in the opening match of the Transylvania Invitational. The Student Princes amassed 10 total blocks, with sophomore Mya Morris tallying six.
Heidelberg dropped the first set before taking the next three -- 18-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-19. HU stands at 7-7 on the season. The Polar Bears, having trekked from Maine to Kentucky, fell to 5-4.
Bowdoin ran away with the first set, attacking at a .361 clip. Comparatively, The Berg hit a mere .125, their worst of the match.
In the second set, HU held a comfortable 18-12 lead before the Polar Bears stormed back with seven straight points, including three aces. Head coach Jason Miller wisely called timeout and was rewarded with a Bowdoin service error. The teams traded points back and forth until kills by Taylor Valentine and Laura Schrag sealed the set.
Heidelberg cruised to another sizable lead in the third set, but again, the pesky Polar Bears clawed their way back in it. Leading 24-21, the Tricolor allowed Bowdoin to tie the match at 24. A Valentine kill and a Morgan Strenk ace saved the day. Strenk had four aces on the evening.
The final set was tight early, with neither side able to sustain momentum. At 19-19, a Rachel Stroski kill ignited a match-winning 6-0 run.
Valentime finished iwth 13 kills and two blocks. Stroski added 10 kills.
Schrag tallied eight kills and four blocks while Morris had seven kills and six blocks.
As usual, Anna McNabb set up the offense. The sophomore had 42 assists, surpassing the 40-set plateau for the third time. She added dig digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
Joining McNabb with double digit digs were libero Rachel Raimondo (21), Sydney Moore (11) and Taylor Arbogast (10).
Bowdoin's Caroline Flaharty had a game high 15 kills, but took 44 swings to get there (.045).
Heidelberg will play twice on Saturday -- vs. Emory (9-1) at noon and vs. host Transylvania (8-4) at 4 p.m.
