Bluefield, WV - The 2014-15 Hollins volleyball season came to an end on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Bluefield, WV.  Hollins traveled out of conference and out of the state to compete in a season ending tri-match against Bluefield College of Virginia and Bluefield State College of West Virginia.

The first match pitted Hollins against a Bluefield College team that Hollins saw in a preseason scrimmage way back in late August.  In that scrimmage the NAIA Rams got the best of Hollins so Saturday marked a chance to turn the tables for a Hollins team looking to end their season on a positive note.

The first set saw the two teams trading points and the lead throughout the early stages of play.  With the score tied, Hollins was able to gain the first advantage of the match and pulled away by three points.  Hollins was able to fend off Bluefield College and once again pull away from their opponents.  Hollins didn't allow the Rams to mount any sort of rally and closed out the first set, 25-21.  In the second match, Hollins seemed to have let down their guard and Bluefield took an early lead and seemed poised to pull away.  However, Hollins slowly climbed back into the set and after taking their first lead, went on a run to stretch out to a comfortable advantage.  Hollins didn't slow down and continued to dominate play, taking the second set 25-16.  With a chance to do something that they hadn't done since September 12th, sweep an opponent, Hollins started the third set with winning the first points on their serve.  Hollins held the lead and refused to let the Rams gain any momentum throughout the set as Hollins led wire to wire and completed only their second sweep of the season, 25-20.

Playing the final two matches of her collegiate career, senior Lauren Hays (Saginaw, TX) enjoyed one of the best matches of her final season by recording 15 kills, one service ace, three digs, and a block.  Fellow senior Jessie Deese (Cary, NC) added five kills, 11 digs, and a pair of blocks.  Outside hitter Rikki Martinez (Corpus Christi, TX) had six kills and seven digs and setter Lela Moore (Woodleaf, NC) handed out a match high 19 assists.

If Hollins were to end the season on a two match win streak they would have to do something that no other ODAC team had done all season, beat their hosts from Bluefield State.  The Blues had already defeated Randolph, Guilford, and Emory & Henry earlier in the season.

Hollins showed early signs of fatigue, having just completed their win over Bluefield College less than 30 minutes prior to the start of their second match.  State raced out to a lead and held off every Hollins run, taking the opening set, 25-19.  The second set saw Hollins hang with their hosts until the midway point of the set.  From that point on, the Blues controlled the action and once again defeated Hollins, 25-19.  The third set saw Hollins win the first point.  The lead was short lived as Bluefield State took advantage of a tired Hollins group and completed the three set sweep, 25-15.

Moore did a little bit of everything for Hollins, leading the team with six kills and 14 assists.  Hays registered five kills and a block while Martinez added four kills and seven digs.  Libero Haley Ortiz (Portsmouth, VA) led the team with 10 digs after recording 14 digs in the opening match.

Hollins wraps up a season that saw some highs and lows, but non higher than ending the season with a split on the final day of competition.