Wesleyan volleyball advances to USAC semifinals with 3-0 win

Rocky Mount, NC - Behind a game-high 15 kills and .714 hitting percentage by junior Brittany Insley (pictured), the Battling Bishop volleyball squad of North Carolina Wesleyan earned a 3-0 sweep of Ferrum College on Tuesday night in Everett Gymnasium.  With the win, the Bishops improve to 26-7 overall, which ties the single-season record for total victories set in 1980.  More importantly, Wesleyan advances to the semifinals of the 2008 USA South Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year.

In the first set, the two squads found themselves tied 16-16 before the Bishops put together a 9-2 run to take a 1-0 match lead with a 25-18 win. NCWC got kills from four different players during that span, while the Panthers hurt themselves with five attack errors down the stretch.

The second set saw the Bishops take a lead at 5-4 that they would not relinquish en route to a 25-13 victory. Wesleyan hit .312 in the set compared to the Panthers' .071. It was more of the same in game three as the Bishops secured the sweep with a 25-19 win.

Insley added a game-high five blocks to go with her 15 kills. Freshman Leslie Hassell had 11 kills of her own, while Mackenzie Tingle dished out 31 assists. Senior Sydney Bens led NCWC's serving efforts with four aces, and Kelly George recorded 13 digs to lead the defense.

For Ferrum (9-25), Jessica Flanagan had eight kills and 13 digs.

As a team, Wesleyan out-blocked the Panthers 9-1. The Bishops also recorded a .291 hitting percentage to Ferrum's .030.

Wesleyan will now travel to Christopher Newport on Friday to face 3rd-seeded Averett University in the USA South Tournament semifinals. Game time is slated for 5:00 p.m., and the contest will feature a live online webcast.