Marlins edge Bishops in Wesleyan volleyball battle

Rocky Mount, NC - In Tuesday night volleyball action, the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan edged the Battling Bishops in a 3-2 thriller (27-30, 30-23, 30-24, 23-30, 15-13).  NC Wesleyan could not overcome 11 Marlin kills down the stretch en route to the 15-13 loss in the fifth and deciding game.  The Bishops are now 2-3 on the season, while VWC improves to 4-1.

NCWC jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a 30-27 win in game one.  The Bishops tallied 14 kills against five errors in the game.  The Marlins struggled with 11 kills and 11 errors for a .000 hitting percentage.

Virginia Wesleyan, however, got into an offensive rhythm in games two and three totaling 31 kills in the two games.  VWC cruised to 30-23 and 30-24 wins, respectively.

The Bishops fought back in game four by capitalizing on 10 Marlin attack errors.  Their 30-23 win forced the deciding game, which saw NCWC take an early 7-4 lead.  Virginia Wesleyan responded by scoring nine out of the next eleven points to take a 13-9 lead.  Although the Bishops battled back and pulled to within 14-13, the run proved to much to overcome as VWC's Katie Heilenday ended the game with a kill, the Marlins' 11th of the game.

On the night, NCWC's Brittany Insley tallied a game-high 20 kills.  Sydney Bens added 13 kills and 10 digs, while Cailtin George recorded 36 assists.  Kelly George turned in a team-high 14 digs.  The Bishops amassed 53 kills as a team, along with 10 service aces and 9.5 blocks.

For the Marlins, Debbie Sterne led all players with 18 kills, while Rebecca Leedom added 16 kills and 19 digs.  Grace Geralds tallied 44 assists for VWC, which had 68 kills and 11 aces as a team.

The Bishops will travel to the Chowan University Invitational this weekend.  NCWC will take on Salem College at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by a match-up with Peace at 3:00 p.m.