Lynchburg, Va. -- Abbi Leeper and Taylor Breeden notched double-doubles, Flinn Christian reached a career-high in digs, and University of Lynchburg's volleyball team won a five-set thriller over visiting Southern Virginia Wednesday night in Turner Gymnasium, 17-25, 25-14, 25-32, 20-25, 17-15.

Leeper collected 13 kills, 10 digs, and two aces on the night, and Emma Drake chipped in 11 kills, two digs, and two blocks for the Hornet front line. Christian, the team's junior libero, anchored the defense with a career-best 25 digs, and Breeden, the freshman setter, dished out 35 assists and made 13 digs.

Southern Virginia (1-1) came in with the hot hand, taking the first set, 25-17, before Lynchburg rebounded to win the second, 25-14, using a 12-3 run midway through. The Hornets carried that momentum through the third, jumping out to an early lead and hanging on to win, 25-21, on an Annie Tynes ace.

After SVU took the fourth set, the teams were back-and-forth in the early part of the fifth; neither team had a lead of more than two points before Lynchburg's 4-0 run made it 11-8 in the hosts' favor. The Knights fought back to tie the set at 13, 14, and 15 before a Drake kill and Leeper's ace put the match away.

The match was the eight-straight between the two programs that has gone to four or more sets.

Lynchburg's volleyball team will now set its sights toward Old Dominion Athletic Conference play, which begins Friday, March 12 with a tri-match at Eastern Mennonite University. The Hornets (1-1) will play the host Royals and rival Roanoke College.

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--LYN--