LYNCHBURG, Va.—Playing in its fourth five-set game this season, the Southern Virginia University women's volleyball team picked up its first five-set victory of the year with a 3-2 win over host Lynchburg College, 26-24, 17-25, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12 Friday night at Turner Gym in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Behind 15 kills and just four errors in the first set, the Knights (11-6) battled to a close 26-24 victory in the opening frame to start off on the right foot. Southern Virginia opened with a 6-0 start to the set but allowed the Hornets to tie it up at 14 apiece midway through. Freshman Calyn Barry was subbed in with the Knights ahead 25-24 and put away the final kill of the set off an assist from Valerie Arkansas.

After Lynchburg took the second set with relative ease, Southern Virginia took a 2-1 lead with a 25-22 set three victory.  The Hornets appeared to have the advantage going up 11-6 early on, but the Knights fought back going point-for-point to knot it up at 21 apiece. A Vanessa Pawlak kill tied it up at 22 all before consecutive kills from Kaitlyn Eaton and Hannah Phillips allowed Southern Virginia to pull away with the set ending on a Lynchburg attack error.

Lynchburg took the reins again in the fourth to claim an easy 25-17 victory. The Knights hung tough down 12-16 at the midpoint but allowed a six-point rally from the Hornets to pull away for an eventual set victory.

The deciding set saw both teams go neck-in-neck tied at 7-7 and 9-9 midway through. An Eaton kill put the Knights up 10-9 before a Pawlak kill increased it to 11-9. Pawlak was clutch in the final moments by earning two kills to help Southern Virginia to a 14-11 lead. After a Lynchburg kill, Barry then took an assist from Katelynn Tlustek for a kill to close the set and claim the win for the Knights.

Eaton led the way for Southern Virginia with 17 kills on the night followed by Pawlak's 13. Phillips finished with nine kills during the game while Barry contributed seven, including the two to finish off the first and fifth sets.

Tlustek finished the game with a team-high 35 assists, while April Bennett led the team in digs with 18. Phillips and Tlustek finished with respective dig totals of 13 and 10 to aid the Knight victory. Eaton and Melissa Owen protected the net to earn a combined 11 block assists on the night.

The Hornets' Aricquel Payne led Lynchburg with 20 kills followed closely by Amanda Perry with 17. Gabby Myers poured in 56 assists on the night.

Southern Virginia returns to action next Wednesday with its Capital Athletic Conference opener on the road. The Knights take on St. Mary's College Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m. in St. Mary's City, Maryland.