Lee sophomore, Quinne Daoust, led the way with 11 big kills to give Lee a 3-1 win over West Alabama on Friday from Pensacola, Fla.
photo by Lee University
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Lee volleyball team made history on Friday night as it secured its first Gulf South Conference Tournament victory in program history with a 3-1 win over West Alabama.
Lefty Quinne Daoust led the way 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage while Silvia Sartori put together a double with 10 kills and 10 digs and Alex Reuter followed with 10 slams and three blocks.
Bailey Kress slammed home nine kills and Brooke Wilsman had seven to go along with eight digs and two blocks.
The turning point in the match game in the third set as the Lady Flames rallied from 23-21 down to score the final four points to seize control of the match.
Lee trailed 16-11 in the third set before going on a 14-8 run to close out the Tigers.
"We took a timeout and needed to refocus during the third set and the girls did a great job of coming out and closing things out to give us a big 2-1 lead in the match," said head coach Andrea Hudson. "I'm really proud of their effort tonight and we are confident we will play with the same energy and passion tomorrow against North Alabama."
The Lady Flames dominated from start to finish in taking the early lead over the Tigers as they rolled out to 13-6 lead and never looked back to win set one, 25-18. Sadie Johnson delivered six assists and had two aces in the first set while Alex Reuter had four kills.
West Alabama answered in set two with a 25-20 victory to knot things up at 1-1.
"We played together and everybody did their part and that was a key for the win tonight. We had some great inspiration before the match as well that really helped us," said Daoust. "I'm so thankful for this team and thankful for this opportunity."
MaKayla Beebe, named All-GSC second team earlier this week, darted around the court for a match-high 30 digs and added three assists and a pair of aces. Kristi Farley delivered 23 assists and three kills while Johnson finished with 21 helpers and two aces.
As a team Lee was stout at the net with 10 blocks compared to just four for the Tigers. The Lady Flames added nine aces in the contest led by three from Sartori.
Briana Sandifer paced the Tiger effort with 10 kills but was limited to .086 hitting percentage. Taylin McCarver and McKaidan Moore added seven slams. Kassie Till delivered a double-double with 23 assists and 21 digs.
The Lady Flames achieve their first 20-win season since joining the NCAA as they improve 20-9 overall. Lee will take North Alabama in the GSC semifinals tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Shorter defeated Alabama Huntsville in the first quarterfinal match and will play host and No. 1 seed West Florida tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.