Box Score Box Score
Winston-Salem, NC - Hollins took a night to step out of ODAC play when they traveled to Salem College for the first of two matchups this season. The Spirits will be Hollins opponent later this season when they come to Roanoke for "Senior Night" in mid October.
Hollins wasted no time in taking control of the opening set. It took the visitors less than 15 minutes to wrap up play in the first, 25-11. The second set saw more of the same with Hollins pulling away midway through the set en route to a 25-16 win. Leading the match 2-0, the Hollins coaching staff used the opportunity to get some much needed experience for their young bench. Salem dug in an battled to protect their home court. Hollins fell behind before they mounted a rally to cut the Spirits lead to two points. However, Salem was able to gain some late momentum and avoided the sweep by taking the set, 25-21. The fourth set started with Hollins winning 12 straight points. Hollins used their big lead to slowly grind the home team down and in the end it was the road team that won the set 25-10 and the match, 3-1.
In a big fourth set win, Jordan Persinger (New Castle, VA) served Hollins to 12 consecutive points in building an insurmountable lead. Persinger rotated back into the serving position with the score 23-10 and served out the match. Lauren Hays (Saginaw, TX) recorded 15 of Hollins 42 kills. The senior also was responsible for five blocks and six digs. Jessie Deese (Cary, NC) added nine kills and 14 digs while setter Lela Moore (Woodleaf, NC) handed out a match high 33 assists and 13 digs. Haley Ortiz (Portsmouth, VA) added 22 more digs to her ODAC leading total of 296 on the season.
Hillary McPhatter led the Salem attack with six kills while teammates Roslyn Nixon and Bernisha Master each added five. Taylor Rhodes registered 16 helpers and Zykeya Henderson led the team with 23 digs.
Hollins will return home for an ODAC battle with Randolph College on Friday night. The match with the WildCats is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm.
