Bishop volleyball splits at Ferrum, prepares for league tourney

Ferrum, VA - The North Carolina Wesleyan volleyball squad extended its winning streak to 15 games with a 3-0 sweep of host Ferrum College on Saturday, but the Cougars of Averett University pulled an upset in the day's second match with a 3-1 victory over the Bishops, who turned in a runner-up finish in the the USA South standings with a program-record 15-3 conference mark. The league split wraps up Wesleyan's regular season slate and give the Bishops a 25-7 record entering next week's conference tournament.

Against Ferrum, set scores were 26-11, 26-13, and 25-13.  Junior Brittany Insley had a solid game with 10 kills and no errors in 17 chances, while freshman Mackenzie Tingle tallied 27 assists. Senior Sydney Bens also had a good game with seven kills and seven digs for the Bishops, who recorded a .449 hitting percentage as a team.

Against Averett, set scores were 25-20, 18-25, 25-15, and 25-20. The Bishops hit just .094 as a team and were paced by Tingle's team-high nine kills and 26 assists. Leslie Hassell and Kelly George anchored the defensive effort with 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

Wesleyan will host two USA South Tournament matches on Tuesday as #7 Ferrum College and #10 Shenandoah University will face each other at 5:00 p.m. for the right to play the Bishops at 7:00. Both contests will be held in Everett Gymnasium and will feature live in-game statistics.