Fully bounced back
Lady Flames notch 20th win, extend win streak to 11 matches
The Liberty Lady Flames volleyball team (20-5, 7-0 Big South) defeated the Charleston Southern (CSU) Buccaneers (9-16, 0-7 Big South) and Coastal Carolina Lady Chanticleers (15-5, 5-2 Big South) Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18. The Lady Flames finished each game 3-1, (23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-13)
and (21-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-19) respectively.
Set up — Hannah Weidner (5) leads all Big South freshman in kills. Photo credit: Courtney Russo
In the Oct. 17 match, the Lady Flames found themselves down as the Buccaneers took an early 11-5 lead. Although Liberty fought back and brought the score to 21-23, Charleston Southern still took the first set. However, the Lady Flames went on to take the next three sets and win the game.
A variety of Lady Flames players contributed to their victory. Freshman Hannah Weidner extended her consecutive 10-kill match streak to 18, while redshirt junior Caroline Douglas finished with 13 kills and 13 digs, according to liberty.edu/flames. Douglas currently leads the Big South Conference in kills at 430 while Weidner is second with 337. Senior Gabrielle Shipe also finished with a team-high 18 digs.
The Lady Flames continued their dominance in the state of South Carolina as they traveled two hours north of Charleston to defeat the Lady Chanticleers the very next day.
Much like against CSU, Liberty got off to a slow start and fell behind 20-8, eventually conceding their first set. After the first set, Liberty won the next three to take the match. Douglas and Weidner combined for more than 40 kills, a feat that has not been accomplished since 2011, according to liberty.edu/flames. Douglas’ 22 kills were enough to make her the 15th member of Liberty’s 1,000-kills club.
With the victory against the Chanticleers, the Lady Flames winning streak extended to 11 — the longest winning streak the Lady Flames have seen since 2007 (16 matches). They were also the second NCAA Division I women’s volleyball team to hit the 20 win mark.
The Lady Flames return home for their next match against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.
Haywood is the asst. sports editor.