Radford Drops Final Regular Season Match

RADFORD, Va. --Radford volleyball lost its final match of the regular season, dropping a 3-0 (31-29, 30-25, 30-22) Conference match to Liberty Saturday afternoon at the Dedmon Center.

The Highlanders fall to 3-24 overall and 0-14 in League play and will be the eighth seed in next week’s Big South Tournament. RU will travel to Winthrop for the first round to face the top-seeded Eagles.

The Lady Flames finish the regular season at 11-18 overall, 7-7 in Big South play. They will be the fifth seed for the tournament and will play at either Birmingham-Southern or UNC Asheville. Both matches will be played Tuesday at 7:00 pm.

Liberty senior Jennifer Belk (Leander, Texas) dominated the match, scoring 20 kills and 12 digs to lead Liberty to the victory. Freshman Jessica Nelson (Tokyo, Japan) had 16 kills while freshman Lara Bartolomeo (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led all players with 20 digs. Senior setter Kristin Colson had 41 assists and 12 digs.

Radford played the Lady Flames close in all three matches, forcing Liberty to win by two in game one. The Highlanders were unable to secure any victories in the game score. RU has lost eight straight matches 0-3.

Junior Divona Cox (Virginia Beach, Va.) and senior Tiffany Guthrie (Littleton, Colo.) each had 10 kills to lead the Highlanders. Junior Elizabeth Aldredge (Richmond, Va.) and sophomore Jennifer Fritz (Virginia Beach, Va.) each had 12 kills for RU, while freshman Josie Hanners (Richmond, Va.) had 10 digs and 27 assists. Senior Patricia Barth (Virginia Beach, Va.) had four aces.

Radford’s five seniors were honored prior to the match. Seniors Kate McHugh (North Branford, Conn.), Barth and Guthrie played in their final match today. Seniors Bliss Mulligan (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Sarah Gates (Hanover, Pa.) were honored prior to the game as well.

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