In non-conference action, the Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball Team split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon in a tri-match hosted by North Greenville. The Bears earned a 3-1 win over Francis Marion before falling by the same score to the host Crusaders.

Against Francis Marion, Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to an early start, taking the first set by a score of 25-18. The second set was back-and-forth as FMU led 18-16 before the Bears battled back. The Patriots went up 24-21 before LR scored two in a row to make it 24-23. However, the Patriots would even the match at 1 with the final kill.

The Bears would close out the match with narrow wins in the third (25-22) and fourth (25-23) sets. Emmaleigh Allen had 19 kills and five service aces to go with seven digs in the winning effort. Aasia McNeill had a season-high 20 digs to go with her 14 kills. Cheyenne Clonch had seven kills and six blocks while Sydney Karjala had 41 assists, 16 digs and four blocks to go with three kills.

In the contest against North Greenville, LR and North Greenville saw each of the four sets decided by two points. NGU took the opener 25-23 before LR battled back to win the second stanza 27-25. The Crusaders would seal the deal with a 30-28 win in the third and 25-23 clincher.

Allen was the lone Bear in double figures in kills with 14 and Kathy Peter had eight with a .421 hitting percentage and nine blocks. Averie Dale had 21 assists and seven digs in her first extended playing time of the year. Lyndsie Warren led the Bears with 20 digs.

LR has only one non-conference match left this season, an Oct. 17 contest against Lander. The Bears are 6-4 in non-conference action so far this season, clinching a winning record out of the league. In total, the Bears have played nine games away from home compared to six home matches in 2023. The Bears are 5-1 against Conference Carolinas opponents this year.

Lenoir-Rhyne is 11-4 overall. The Bears will have one of their biggest games of the year on Tuesday as they return to South Atlantic Conference play when they travel to always strong Wingate for a 7 p.m. match.