Insley's 28 kills give NCWC fifth straight volleyball win

Rocky Mount, NC - North Carolina Wesleyan's volleyball team avenged two early season losses to Chowan University by turning in a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Hawks on Thursday night in Everett Gym.  Game scores were 20-30, 27-30, 30-20, 30-23, and 16-14.  Sophomore Brittany Insley (pictured) tallied a season-high 28 kills to help the Bishops overcome a 2-0 deficit in the match.  Wesleyan has now won five straight matches and improves to 15-10 on the season, while the Hawks currently stand at 17-8 overall.

In game one, Chowan jumped out to an 8-1 lead thanks to four early service aces.  The Bishops, however, battled back to tie the game at 16-16.  The Hawks countered with a 6-0 run to go up 22-16, and Wesleyan would not recover en route to the 30-20 game one loss.

The beginning of game two mirrored game one, but this time it was the Bishops who forged an early lead at 7-1.  Like Wesleyan, Chowan battled back and managed to knot the game at 20-20.  Despite fighting off three game points, the ensuing 9-4 Hawk run was took much for NCWC to overcome as CU took a 2-0 lead in the match with the 30-27 win.

Wesleyan managed a 30-20 win in game three with the help of some timely blocking.  The Bishops tallied eight blocks in the game, three coming from freshman Alyssa Balzano.  Chowan turned in a negative hitting percentage with 12 kills against 13 attack errors in the game.

The Bishops used the momentum from game three to take game four by a 30-23 score.  Tied at 23-23, Wesleyan reeled off the final seven points to even the match at two games apiece, setting the stage for a fifth and deciding game.

A back-and-forth battle from the start, the two squads found themselves tied at 13-13 late in the game.  Chowan's Katlyn Smith notched her second kill of the night to give the Hawks match point.  Christy Rodriguez's service error, however, knotted the game againt at 14-14.  A huge block by Insley and teammate Jessica Johnson gave Wesleyan its first match point, and Insley's ensuing 28th kill completed the comeback and victory.

Bishop senior Caitlin George amassed 55 assists on the night, while Sydney Bens chipped in 13 kills and a team-high 29 digs.  Balzano finished with nine kills, six blocks, and four service aces.  Fellow freshman Barbara DeRatt also tallied nine kills to go along with 14 digs.

For Chowan, Kristen Stroud and Antoinette McCollough had 18 and 15 kills, respectively.  Nicole anchored the Hawk defensive effort with a game-high 34 digs.  Stacey Davis dished out 54 assists.

Wesleyan returns to USA South play this week at Peace College.  The Bishops will take on Shenandoah University at 2:30 p.m. followed by a match-up with Peace at 5:00 p.m.