The North Greenville Trailblazers split a pair of matches on Friday at the USC Aiken/Augusta University Invitational, falling to Lee University in four sets before bouncing back with a 3-1 victory over host Augusta University. The split moved North Greenville to 3-3 on the season.
North Greenville opened the afternoon against Lee, with the Flames taking the opening set 25-19. The Trailblazers responded in the second, battling to a 25-23 victory to even the match. The third set required extra points before Lee was able to hang on to win 28-26, and another tight finish followed in the fourth as the Flames secured the match with a 27-25 victory.
Despite the loss, North Greenville finished with more kills than Lee, holding a 56-53 laed in the category. The Trailblazers hit .182 for the match while Lee finished at .237, with the Flames also holding a 10-5 advantage in blocks. NGU recorded 71 digs and nine service aces.
Larkin Pham led the Trailblazer attack against Lee with 13 kills and added a team-high 15 digs to post a double-double. Anna Fiddelke was efficient in the middle, recording 12 kills without an attack error on 30 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage while adding four blocks. Samantha Ball finished with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Karson Haley added nine kills. Allison Ball and Madison Sherman each recorded 22 assists, with Allison Ball also posting six of NGU's nine service aces. Macie Gentry provided 13 digs.
The Trailblazers quickly regrouped against Augusta later in the day. After the Jaguars took the opening set 25-20, North Greenville answered with a 24-21 victory in the second before taking control of the match with a dominant 25-13 third-set win. The fourth proved to be the closest of the match, with NGU outlasting Augusta 27-25 to complete the 3-1 victory.
NGU recorded 11 blocks compared to just 3 for Augusta and held the Jaguars to a .182 hitting percentage. NGU hit .256 for the match, including .300 in both the second and third sets, and finished with 63 digs.
Haley led the way with a strong all-around performance, finishing with a team-high 14 kills on a .303 hitting percentage while adding seven blocks and six digs. Samantha Ball recorded 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, two service aces and 12 digs, while Pham added 10 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the day. Peyton Taylor contributed four kills and four blocks, while Gabby Rice finished with five blocks.
Allison Ball directed the offense with 25 assists and added 10 digs for a double-double, while Sherman recorded 14 assists. Gentry posted a match-high 20 digs and also served two aces.
North Greenville will continue play at the USC Aiken/Augusta University Invitational on Saturday with two more matches. The Trailblazers will face the University of Montevallo at 1:30 p.m. before taking on USC Aiken at 4:00 p.m. in Aiken, South Carolina.
