Buena Vista, Va. -- University of Lynchburg's volleyball team put together a fine defensive effort Tuesday evening, earning a 25-18, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18 win on the road at Southern Virginia.

The Hornets held SVU to a pedestrian .095 hitting percentage and racked up six blocks on the way to the win. Meanwhile, Abbi Leeper's 19 kills and .310 attack clip to lead the Lynchburg offense, while Mya Green totaled 42 assists and nine digs. Freshman Kailey Keough put together an 11-kill, 10-dig performance, becoming one of five Hornets to reach double figures in the digs column; Cassi Blackmore (17), Jordan Bartemeyer (14), Sophia Rucker (10), and Abbey Barlow (10) also piled up double-digit digs.

Caught in a battle in the early going, Lynchburg ripped off a 9-4 run to take control of the opening set and held on for the 25-18 win. In the second, Lynchburg grappled to a narrow 18-17 advantage before winning seven of the final nine balls of the set, the final two kills by Leeper, to earn the commanding lead. The Hornets hit a scalding .286 in the second, highlighted by four kills from Leeper.

After SVU took the third, Lynchburg rallied for a 14-8 lead at the midway point in the fourth, and the senior Leeper put down five more kills in the set's final 14 points to help seal the match. Back-to-back kills from Keough sealed the deal.

Princess Salifou had six kills and four blocks for the Hornets, and Rucker added four aces and two blocks to her 10-dig evening. Leeper's 19 kills gave the senior 58 in the season's early going, putting her atop the Old Dominion Athletic Conference leaderboard in the category.

Sydney Hopkin led the Knights with 16 kills and six digs.

Lynchburg (3-1) will continue its season-opening roadtrip Saturday with a tri match at William Peace, taking on Pfeiffer and the host Pacers in Raleigh, N.C.

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--LYN--