LYNCHBURG, VA – The Winthrop volleyball team overcame a two-set deficit, forcing a fifth set, but came up short just Saturday of completing the comeback, falling 3-2 on the road to the Liberty Flames.

Liberty (8-9, 3-2) dominated the opening two sets of the contest as the Eagles hit only .028 in that span.  The Flames took the first set 25-16 and the second 25-15.

Winthrop (8-12, 0-5) came back and controlled the beginning of the third set, getting out to a 10-5 lead.  The Flames slowly chipped away at the Winthrop advantage and were finally able to pull even at 22-22.  After trading a couple points, the Eagles were able to pull away with the 26-24 third-set victory.

The Eagle momentum continued into the early going of the fourth set as Winthrop jumped out to a 4-1 lead.  Liberty battled back and took its largest lead of the set at 13-10 but then struggled, managing only four more points.  Winthrop hit .412 in the fourth set and won in dominating fashion, 25-17.

The decisive fifth set was a back-and-forth affair with both sides taking opportunities to lead.  Winthrop had an early edge it couldn't hold.  The two sides were tied at 9-9 and again at 12-12 before Liberty took the final three points to win 15-12.

Four Eagles totaled double-digit kills and were led by Brianna Gray who finished with 13 kills.  Keaupono Fey and Emma Weakland each added 11 while Sydney Gunter finished with 10 kills.  Siani Yamaguchi led the team with 37 assists and Mallary McFadden totaled 19 digs.

Winthrop steps away from conference play on Wednesday when the Eagles host NC Central at 6 p.m.