Bens' 18 kills gives Bishop netters 3-2 win over Ferrum

Danville, VA - Junior Sydney Bens (pictured) recorded a team-high 18 kills and 22 digs to lead her North Carolina Wesleyan volleyball squad to a 3-2 win over Ferrum College on Friday night at Averett University.  The win, coupled with a Panther loss to CNU later in the evening, gives the Bishops a 4th-place finish in the conference standings at 11-7.  The 11 league wins are a new program record and assures that Wesleyan will host the first round of the USA South Tournament on Tuesday night. 

The victory also ups Wesleyan's season record to 20-13, marking only the fourth 20-win season in the program's history and second for head coach Robin Pietryk.

Game scores against Ferrum were 34-32, 30-32, 30-26, 17-30, and 15-11.  In addition to Bens' performance, Brittany Insley added 18 kills and Caitlin George 54 assists.  Kelly George turned in a team-high 25 digs defensively.

FC's Mindy Altice tallied a game-high 36 kills to go along with 26 digs.

Earlier in the afternoon, Wesleyan fell to host Averett in a 3-0 sweep.  Game scores were 30-19, 30-24, and 30-28.  Insley had a team-high 12 kills, while Bens had 23 digs.

The Battling Bishops will now wait for tournament pairings to be released on Sunday evening.  As the fourth seed, Wesleyan will host the fifth seed on Tuesday night in Everett Gymnasium.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.