The seventh ranked Lee University Lady Flames found the going a little tougher than expected on Tuesday night against a determined Martin Methodist College volleyball team. Coach Andrea Hudson's team showed the mark of a winner by battling hard to score a 30-23, 32-30, 30-20 victory over the RedHawks.

The Lady Flames returned from a long trip to Portland, Ore. on Sunday. The team took Monday off, but still battled jet-lag in the contest against the former TranSouth Conference opponent. "I guess we were a little tired," admitted coach Hudson. "I know the coaches were. Martin Methodist always gives us a tough battle. They have a couple of Brazilians who can really play the game."

Lee struggled but found a way to win the first game 30-23. The RedHawks gained confidence from the first game and that carried over into a rugged second game. Finally, the Lady Flames were able to break a 30-30 tie and pull out the win.

The second game seemed to take most of the spark out of Martin Methodist. The Lady Flames had little trouble in winning the final game of the evening by a convincing 30-20 margin.

"Martin Methodist has already played in a NCAA Division II tournament," stressed coach Hudson. "We feel like we are still making progress and I believe we have just about got our rotation the way we want it."

Martin Methodist coach Rose Powell seems to enjoy the challenge of pitting her team against the Lady Flames. "We ain't intimidated by anyone," she said with a smile. "We ain't afraid of anyone, either."

Naiara Fernandes came up big for the Lady Flames with 17 kills. She added two digs and a couple of blocking assists. Ligia Zobolli turned in a sparkling effort with 14 kills and one dig. Bojana Vulin was her consistent self with 10 kills, four key service aces and 11 digs.

Lisa Kidwell posted 28 assists and her freshman understudy Katie Thornton added 14 assists and came away with five digs.

The Lady Flames will return to action on Friday traveling to Rome, Ga. for a 7 p.m. match with Shorter College. They will host Reinhardt College in another Southern States Athletic Conference contest on Saturday at 1 p.m.