Battling Bishops move to 8-0 in USA South volleyball standings

Winchester, VA - North Carolina Wesleyan moved to 8-0 in the USA South volleyball standings on Saturday afternoon as the Battling Bishops recorded 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Peace and Shenandoah, respectively. Freshman Meredith Smith (pictured) totaled 26 kills over the two matches to help Wesleyan secure a first-place tie with Christopher Newport heading into Tuesday's showdown in Newport News. The Battling Bishops have now won 10 of their last 11 matches to improve to 12-7 overall.

Set scores versus Peace were 25-21, 25-19, and 25-18. The Bishops turned in a .250 hitting percentage as a team compared to the Pacers' .139 and were led by junior Barbara DeRatt's .455 accuracy. Senior Brittany Insley led all players with 13 kills in the match, and Smith contributed 10.

Also of note, Insley completed the double-double with 11 digs, while junior libero Kelly George chipped in a game-high 24. Sophomore Mackenzie Tingle had 39 assists and five service aces.

Against host Shenandoah, set scores were 25-21, 25-16, 20-25, and 25-21. Smith turned in a career-high 16 kills in the winning effort, and Insley added 14 kills and six blocks. George again led the defensive effort with 18 digs, while Tingle dished out 42 assists.

Tuesday will feature a doubleheader between the league's top two teams as Wesleyan travels to CNU. Game one is slated for a 5:00 p.m. start.

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