LAURINBURG, N.C.—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Conference Carolinas rival Coker College 24-30, 30-24, 15-30, 30-27, 15-10 on Tuesday night in Harris Court.

The Knights had a .237 hitting percentage in the match to improve to 6-9 on the season and 5-2 in Conference Carolinas play. The Cobras fell to 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the league.

St. Andrews opened the evening with a quick 6-1 run, but a 7-1 rally by Coker gave the visitors their first lead of the match at 8-7. The Cobras built a five-point advantage but the Knights fought back and a block assist by sophomore Jaime Hayes (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) and Galina Podolsky (Raleigh, N.C.) squared everything a 16-16. Coker responded with a 5-0 run to go ahead for good, holding on for the six-point win in the first.

Tied 10-10, freshman Kelly Williams (Laurel, Md.) served up three consecutive aces to give the Knights their first lead of the second game at 13-10. Williams’ four aces in the second sparked St. Andrews to the six-point win knotting the match at 1-1.

The Cobras bounced back and slowly pulled away in a strong third frame, with their final 15-point margin of victory being their largest lead of the game. Senior Margaret Madison’s (Savannah, Ga.) kill to end the third put Coker back on top with a 2-1 advantage.

In a close fourth game that included 16 ties, St. Andrews finally broke away at 26-26 with a pair of points on a Podolsky kill and a block assist by Podolsky and Hayes. Senior Lindsey Stansbury (Morgan City, La.) ended the three-point victory for the Knight with a kill.

Coker jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the decisive fifth game but after a SAPC timeout the Knights tied everything at eight apiece with a 5-1 run. A pair of Stansbury spikes catapulted St. Andrews into the lead for good at 11-9. Freshman Leah Davison (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) ended the come-from-behind victory with a kill at 15-10.

Podolsky led the Knights with 15 kills and five blocks while Lemieux provided 14 kills and 18 digs. Both Podolsky and Lemieux had two service aces.

Stansbury totaled 11 kills and six blocks for SAPC. Hayes chipped in with 46 assists and 13 digs. Senior libero Erin Haugen (Ft. Mill, S.C.) scooped up 17 digs and Williams finished with five aces. Davison had a team-high seven blocks.

Madison led the visitors with a game-high 24 kills and two assists. Senior Megan Haupt (Summerville, S.C.) was just behind Madison with 21 kills and three blocks. Sophomore Samantha Cliborne (Goose Creek, S.C.) chipped in with seven kills and four blocks. Freshman setter Megan Gordon (Chicago, Ill.) had 50 assists and 13 digs while junior libero Kelsey Carlson (Oswego, Ill.) reached the 30-dig club with 32 digs. Senior Natalie Schembra (Hilton Head, S.C.) tallied 26 digs and two aces.

St. Andrews hosts Conference Carolinas rival Barton College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. while Coker entertains league foe Limestone College on Friday at 7:00 p.m.