Monarchs down Bishops in USA South volleyball action, 3-1

Rocky Mount, NC - Despite 21 kills, 26 digs, and seven blocks by sophomore Brittany Insley, the Battling Bishop volleyball squad of North Carolina Wesleyan could not overcome a 2-0 deficit to Methodist University, falling on Wednesday night by a 3-1 score in Everett Gymnasium.  Game scores were 30-24, 30-24, 27-30, and 30-27.  NCWC is now 10-10 on the season, 3-4 in USA South play, while the Monarchs improve to 11-7 overall, 6-3 in conference action.

Methodist jumped out to a 1-0 match lead with a 30-24 win in game one.  The Monarchs overcame six Bishop blocks by tallying 17 total kills.  Sara Yeatman and Kelsey Carter led the way with four apiece.  Insley paced the Bishops with four kills of her own.

Game two saw the two squads fight to a 17-17 tie midway through.  The Monarchs, however, put together a 7-0 run to go up 24-17, and the Bishops would not recover en route to another 30-24 loss.

Down two games to none, Wesleyan fell behind 14-7 in game three but rebounded for the 30-27 win.  Senior Caitlin George led the Bishops with four kills and 13 assists in the game.

Five attack errors by Methodist gave NCWC an early 5-0 advantage in the final game.  Unfortunately for the Bishops, the Monarchs turned things around and finished with 16 kills.  The 30-27 game four win gave MU the 3-1 victory.

In addition to Insley’s solid play, Sydney Bens turned in 14 kills and 17 digs.  George finished with 53 assists, 14 digs, and seven kills, while sister Kelly chipped in 19 digs defensively.

For Methodist, Taylor Cates recorded 16 kills and 21 digs.  Tiffany Zellhart added 48 assists, and Jordan Grady amassed a game-high 29 digs.

The Bishops return to action this weekend when they travel to Shenandoah University for a USA South Play Day in Winchester.