MARS HILL, N.C. - After taking an early 2-0 lead over Mars Hill in conference play, the Brevard College volleyball team was unable to close the door on the homestanding Lions, falling in a five-set thriller at Stanford Arena.

Mars Hill (5-10, 4-4 SAC) became the first team all season to hit below .200 and defeat the Tornados (8-7, 2-6 SAC), combining for a .121 attack percentage on 207 attempts. The Lions were led by Lauren Hochstetler, who tallied a match-high 16 kills and contributed 16 digs in the winning effort. She was one of nine players in the match, including four Tornados, to reach double figures in digs.

Aleksandra Vrvilo led all players with 31 digs on the afternoon. Fatima Gharachorloo and Rachel Ruble paced the offense with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Ruble hit at a blistering .312 clip on 32 attempts. Erin Barr finished four kills shy of a triple-double with 32 assists and 13 digs.

Brevard won the first two sets with relative ease, holding the Lions to 17 and 14 points. The Tornados had five service aces, three by Taylor VanReenen, through the first two sets, and held Mars Hill to a total hitting percentage of .000 during that span.

Mars Hill began their comeback with a 25-16 win in the third set. With Brevard leading 11-9, an Andie Russell kill sparked a 12-1 Lions' run that gave the momentum back to Mars Hill. The Lions scored four straight points to break a 21-all tie and win a fourth set that saw each team build significant leads only to see them collapse.

In the decisive fifth set, Brevard led 7-4 in the early going, but five straight Lions' points saw Mars Hill take an 11-9 lead that it would not relinquish on its way to a 15-13 triumph.

Brevard will attempt to snap a four-match losing skid as the Tornados travel to Lenoir-Rhyne for a 7:00 p.m. contest on Tuesday.

Featured image courtesy of Neil Hayes. Click here to view more photos by Neil.