HU picks up two non-conference wins at Manchester Tri-Match

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Taking a break from league play, the Huntington volleyball team picked up a pair of wins Saturday afternoon at the Manchester Tri-Match. With these wins, the Foresters improve to 10-14 on the year.

The first match of the day was a 3-1 W (25-12, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18) over Earlham. The Quakers' only win was the second set, but HU didn't make it easy for them as evidenced by nine ties and four lead changes. The rest of the match was much less eventful as only eight ties and four lead changes were sprinkled throughout the other three sets.

De'Janea Johnson and Haley Kruse shared the offensive load by each posting 13 kills. The twosome accounted for over half of their team's 45 kills. Leah Carter had a solid showing on both sides of the net by collecting six kills and a pair of solo blocks.

Morgan Robrock handed out 31 assists and added eight digs while Layla Meyer finished with 27 digs to pace Huntington defensively.

Against the host Spartans, Herber's crew set the tone by dominating the first set on the way to logging a 3-0 sweep (25-9, 25-22, 25-23). The win over Manchester is HU's eighth straight over their neighbors to the northwest.

The guests outhit MU 30-21 with Kruse leading the way with 11 kills on 22 swings. Johnson added seven while Tya Bynum put down six. Bynum also posted two blocks as did Carter. Robrock and Kendyll Gebert split setting duties to log 14 and 11 assists respectively.

"I'm proud of our girls for finishing and walking away with two wins today," said Coach Kelsey Herber. "Our outside hitters brought the fire power offensively, and I thought Kendyll did an excellent job stepping in and running a beautiful offense for us in the second match.

"This is a nice confidence boost before we jump back into conference play."

HU is back in action Wednesday to host #17 Marian at 7:00 p.m.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 125 NAIA All-America honors and 449 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Reportranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.