College Volleyball Final – Lynchburg 3, Guilford 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior outside hitter Sydney Frink hit .323 with a match-high 14 kills in visiting University of Lynchburg’s 3-0 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) volleyball win Wednesday at Guilford College. Frink also added eight digs and two blocks as the Hornets (12-13, 6-5 ODAC) moved into a share of sixth place in the ODAC standings with the Quakers (15-9, 6-5 ODAC). Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-22, 25-14.

Lynchburg pulled away late in a tight first set that featured five ties and two lead changes. Frink had six putaways in the set, including four during a string of six straight Hornets’ points that broke a 15-15 tie. Lynchburg also took advantage of Guilford’s eight hitting errors and five service errors in the set.

A kill and three blocks by sophomore middle blocker Amanda Rabey (Kernersville, N.C./Glenn) helped the Quakers race to an 8-0 advantage to start the second frame, but the Hornets stormed back. Lynchburg answered with seven straight points of its own. A Natalie Lavelle kill got service back to the Hornets down 13-9. Sophomore setter Katie Cornelius served 12 straight points that included two of her match-high three aces. Her hard serving kept the Quakers’ offense off balance and helped Lynchburg reel off 13 points in a row. Guilford got back to within 20-16, but no closer.

Lynchburg grabbed a 12-3 third-set lead and never looked back. Guilford hitting errors combined with solid serving by freshman defensive specialist Annie Tynes and Frink built the Hornets’ margin. The Quakers recorded 11 of their 28 hitting errors in the final frame.

Senior hitter Sydney Jamison had six kills on .286 hitting for Lynchburg. Cornelius added a team-best 15 assists to her three aces. Lauren Stanford picked up 16 digs on the back row. Lavelle and Disa Haugsdahl both had four blocks as the Hornets totaled eight team blocks.

Junior outside hitter Christian Ritter’s (Asheboro, N.C./Eastern Randolph) seven kills and 14 digs paced the Quakers. Junior setter Tina Eucker had 19 assists, 11 digs, and three blocks. Rabey finished with four kills on .300 hitting and four blocks.

Coach Emily Gann’s Quakers host Shenandoah University Saturday (10/27) at 11:00 a.m. in Guilford’s regular-season finale.