Orange opened its non-conference match at Beachwood on Wednesday with two straight wins then held off the Bison to win the match, 3-2.
The Lions cruised to 25-19 and 25-16 wins in the first two sets but the Bison rallied to tie the match at 2-2 with a 25-18 win in the third set and a 25-15 win in the fourth. Orange pulled out a 15-13 victory in the decisive fifth set.
“It came down to who was going to fight harder,” said Orange coach Jen Gold. “Our girls stayed calm and played their game to bring home the win.”
Senior Maria Burdjalov hammered home a kill to set the Lions up with a match point in the fifth set. She finished the night with 17 kills.
Junior Sofia Garcia Olalla recorded five blocks for the Lions while senior Haley Shedden led the team with 27 assists.
“Senior Katie Hoover played consistently at the net including tips and kills,” Gold said. “Senior starting setter Haley Shedden did a beautiful job setting up the Lion’s offense. Senior starting libero Carly Stark led the team’s defense.”
Orange improved to 1-1 on the year.
