Maryville, Tenn. -- University of Lynchburg's volleyball team battled to another split on the final day of the Maryville College Invitational, defeating Covenant in straight sets after a tight five-set loss to Maryville in Saturday afternoon's opener.

Lynchburg put it all together in the tournament finale, cruising to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 victory over Covenant.

Maryville battled back to take a 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-20, 15-10 decision in the opener.

Junior outside Sydney Frink (Chester, Va.) continued her hot start to the season with 27 kills between the two matches.

Junior setter Erin Farina (Crozet, Va.) piled up 46 assists and nine aces on the day, and junior libero Lauren Stanford (Mechanicsville, Va.) dug out 40 attacks. Stanford topped 1,000 career digs during the day's first match, moving into 10th on Lynchburg's all-time digs list. 

THE RUNDOWN

Match 1 Final: Maryville 3, Lynchburg 2 (25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-20, 15-10)

Match 2 Final: Lynchburg 3, Covenant 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22)

Records: Lynchburg 3-6, Maryville 2-4, Covenant 0-6

Venue: Boydson Baird Gymnasium, Maryville College, Maryville, Tenn.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Match 1

• Maryville stepped out to a 1-0 lead, scoring six of the final eight points in a 25-21 first-set victory.

• Lynchburg turned the tide in the second as the Hornets turned a set-point around to win the final three points. Freshman middle Bria Hayward (Newport News, Va.) and Farina came up with a huge block to knot the score at 24 apiece, Frink put down the next point to give the Hornets the advantage, and she and sophomore middle Natalie Lavelle (Wilmington, Del.) blocked the Scots' attack once more to ice the set.

• The Hornets erased an early third-set deficit and cruised to win that, but they couldn't come up with the final one. Maryville ended the fourth on a 5-0 run and the fifth on a 9-4 run to win the match.

• Frink finished with a match-high 19 kills and three blocks, while Farina tallied 20 assists, five aces, and five digs. Stanford tallied 24 digs, also a match-high.

Match 2

• Lynchburg dominated from the outset, scoring the first seven points of the match on a serving streak by Farina, and cruised to a 25-22 win. The Hornets began the second in similar fashion, an 8-2 onslaught, and won handily, 25-19.

• Lynchburg finished the match with an exclamation point, as Frink and Hayward came up with a block for the final point.

• Frink and junior right side Lindsey Lang (Poquoson, Va.) each put down eight balls in the winning effort; Lang also made four blocks. Farina made 26 assists and served up four aces. Freshman defensive specialist Annie Tynes (Glen Allen, Va.) collected a match-high 18 digs, while Stanford added 16.

LOOKING AHEAD

Lynchburg looks ahead to trips to Mary Washington (Wednesday, Sept. 12) and Southern Virginia (Friday, Sept. 14) for non-conference, mid-week tilts. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.

--LYN--