STERLING – David clanged plenty of stones off Goliath's armor Thursday at Musgrove Fieldhouse, but just couldn't hit the gap.

Newman's scrappy volleyball team pushed the towering Sterling squad to its limits in Game 1, but the Golden Warriors passed that test and posted a 25-23, 25-14 nonconference victory.

After taking the first four points of the opener and building an 18-10 lead, Sterling (8-0) struggled to put its visitor away. Newman (6-3) took the next three points on a net violation, a block by Rachel Hageman on Sterling's ferocious hitter Krista Loos, and another net violation, dictated by Hageman's persistence at the net.