DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University volleyball held off nemesis Maryville College 3-2 Friday night to advance to Saturday's USA South Conference Tournament championship. Averett, the No. 1 seed of the East Division, defeated the West No. 2 seed Scots 25-15, 19-25, 25-14, 25-27, 15-11.
 
Averett (26-9) will host East No. 2 seed Meredith College (24-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Grant Center for the 2016 USA South Tournament title and the conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars looked dominant in the first and third sets — both lopsided wins. However, Maryville (18-15) came out fighting in the fourth frame as the Scots tried to stay alive and force a deciding fifth set. Maryville led early before Averett tied it at 12-12. The Scots won the next three points to add some cushion and extended their lead to 21-15. Yet, the Cougars managed to battle back to tie the game and then take a 23-22 advantage. The teams traded points until a pair of Averett errors helped Maryville win 27-25 and set up a showdown for the final spot in the championship match.
 
Entering Friday's meeting, Maryville had ended Averett's season in each of the last three years — twice in the semifinals and a 3-2 victory in the conference's epic 2013 championship. But on this night, in front of a loud home crowd, the Cougars found a way to finally put away the Scots in the conference tournament. Averett inched out to an 8-6 lead at the switch, and although Maryville came back to tie it at 10-10, the Cougars didn't flinch. Kills by freshman Madison Dadez and junior Hannah Shields, followed by a service ace from sophomore Kaleigh Steelman, helped Averett go ahead 13-10. After a Maryville point, Shields put down a strong kill and sophomore Keenan Marks finished it off with a service ace for the final point.

"Even though we didn't win the fourth set, the fact that we came back late and actually took the lead (helped us)," Averett volleyball coach Danny Miller said. "I think when we went into that fifth set, we felt better than Maryville did even though they won the set because they almost lost it."

Shields and freshman Brianna Williams led the attack with 18 kills apiece as part of their double-doubles. Shields added 20 digs and four service aces, while Williams had 14 digs and four block assists. Dadez finished with 10 kills and three block assists and senior Brittany Daley added eight kills and four total blocks. Sophomore Emily Stanley led the team with 21 digs, and Marks and junior Christiana Summ each had 16 digs. Marks also ended up with 55 assists and five kills.

For Shields, her 18 kills puts her at 1,999 for her career — one shy of the Averett program record and USA South Conference career record held by Brenda LaFlamme (now Bren Taylor, who is the director of operations for Averett athletics).

Maryville's Julia Vinyard had a solid performance for the Scots, totaling 13 kills while hitting .323 and making four block assists. Abrianna Jones had a team-high 15 kills and Kaitlyn Flickinger had a team-best 23 digs.

Averett will make its 16th conference tournament final appearance on Saturday, while Meredith plays in its first USA South volleyball championship match since joining the league in 2007. The Cougars are 10-5 in conference title games but are looking to end a three-game finals skid.

The Cougars edged Meredith 3-1 in both teams' regular season finale, which pitted two 14-0 teams in the conference against each other, with the winner taking the USA South East Divison regular season crown.

"We have to play well. That goes without saying," Miller said of his team's matchup against Meredith. "I think as long as we move our feet, serve tough and move our hits around, we'll be in good shape."