JACKSON, Miss. – Asbury volleyball (12-10, 4-5 CCS) picked up a conference road victory Saturday morning, defeating Belhaven (10-11, 5-4 CCS) 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16, led by junior Sophie Glushchak's 15 kills.
Asbury produced 55 kills on a .235 hitting percentage while holding Belhaven to 38 kills and a .134 percentage. The Eagles also held advantages in digs, 57-43, blocks, 6-2, and service aces, 8-6.
AU came out firing in the opening set, recording 19 kills with only one attack error for a .621 hitting percentage. Asbury pulled ahead 13-8 and maintained control down the stretch, with Sophie Glushchak and Isabelle VandeSchraaf helping power the offense to a 25-21 opening-set victory.
Belhaven responded in the second, building a 15-9 advantage before closing the set 25-21 to even the match at one set apiece.
The Eagles answered in the third. After the score was tied at 8-8, Asbury used a 4-0 run to move ahead 12-8 and never relinquished the lead. Aliah Jones provided six kills in the set as AU pulled away for a 25-18 win and a 2-1 match advantage.
Asbury carried the momentum into the fourth. The Eagles turned a 5-4 advantage into an 18-9 lead, highlighted by a strong service stretch from Isabelle VandeSchraaf. AU totaled five aces in the final set and held Belhaven to a -.083 hitting percentage to secure the match with a 25-16 victory.
Sophie Glushchak led the Asbury attack with 15 kills on a .333 hitting percentage while adding three block assists. Isabelle VandeSchraaf added 12 kills, 12 digs, four service aces and two block assists. Aliah Jones finished with eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage and a team-high five block assists.
Sara Beth Gray directed the AU offense with 24 assists and added five digs, while Julia Wright and Katelyn Chapman contributed nine and seven assists, respectively. Lilly Cowing added nine digs, and Ariana Bluestein collected eight.
* Sophie Glushchak | 15 K, .333 PCT, 3 BA
* Isabelle VandeSchraaf | 12 K, 12 DIG, 4 SA, 2 BA
* Aliah Jones | 8 K, .500 PCT, 5 BA
* Sara Beth Gray | 24 AST, 5 DIG
* Lilly Cowing | 9 DIG
* Ariana Bluestein | 8 DIG
The team returns home to the Luce Center in Wilmore, Ky., on Fri., Oct. 30 to take on Piedmont at 6 PM.
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