Wesleyan volleyball wins five-set thriller at Methodist, 3-2

Fayetteville, NC - Senior Brittany Insley and freshman Meredith Smith each turned in season-high kill totals on Wednesday night to lead their NC Wesleyan volleyball squad to a thrilling 3-2 win
at Methodist University. Set scores were 25-16, 25-17, 17-25,
23-25, and 15-13. Insley turned in a game-high 25 kills, while Smith (pictured) had a career-high 17. With the victory, the Bishops move to 20-10 overall, securing their third-straight
20-win season. More importantly, Wesleyan improves to 14-2 in USA South play to take a commanding hold on second place in the league standings.

Wesleyan hit .344 in the first set and then turned in a match-best .517 team hitting percentage in the second game to take a relatively easy 2-0 lead in the match.

The Monarchs, however, rebounded in the third set with 16 kills to the Bishops' nine.  Methodist then forged a 21-14 advantage in game four before the Bishops reeled off six straight points to pull within one at 21-20.  Later tied 22-22, MU got back-to-back kills from Jalesty Washington to go up 24-22, and after a Monarch service error, Washington knotted the match at 2-2 with a set-ending kill.

In the fifth and final set, the Bishops pulled ahead 8-4 only to see the Monarchs battle back to tie the game at 10-10. Insley proceeded to tally three kills in her next four attempts to help NCWC secure the 15-13 set and match win.

Insley completed the double-double with 12 digs, while Smith had four blocks. In addition to Insley and Smith's performances, sophomore Mackenzie Tingle dished out a season-high 54 assists, and Kelly George had a team-high 17 digs.

Four Monarchs tallied double-figure kills, led by freshman Stephanie Woods' 14.  Libero Jordan Grady turned in a game-high 19 digs in the match.

The Bishops return to action on Saturday when they host the final USA South Play Day of the regular season. Wesleyan will take on Ferrum College at 10:00 a.m. and Averett University at 4:00 p.m. in Everett Gymnasium. Saturday will also serve as Parent's Day and Senior Day.

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