DANVILLE, Va. — Meredith College defeated Averett University 3-0 in Saturday's 2016 USA South Conference Volleyball Tournament championship held at the Grant Center. The Avenging Angels won 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.

As the No. 2 seed out of the East Division, Meredith (25-3) secured its first ever volleyball championship since joining the league in 2007 and earns the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.

The Avenging Angels, who finished as the runner-up to Averett (26-10) in the East Division during the regular season, came out firing in Saturday's championship tilt. Meredith used a four-point swing midway through the first set to go ahead 17-12 before putting away the Cougars 25-19 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Angels hit .361 in the opening frame.

The second set was extremely tight and intense as neither team led by more than three points at any time. Averett led 20-19 late, but another four-point run by Meredith swung the momentum into its favor, and the Avenging Angels took it 25-22.

Averett, the No. 1 seed in the East, didn't go away quietly as the Cougars led 13-8 midway through the third set. Yet, Meredith slowly worked its way back into contention, tying it at 21-21 as the start of six consecutive points to end the match and seal the conference tournament title.

Meredith setter Hannah Blaylock was named the USA South Tournament MVP, while teammates Alex Hafliger, Haley Reeg and Caroline Corey joined her on the All-Tournament Team. Averett junior Hannah Shields and freshman Brianna Williams also made the All-Tournament Team, along with Maryville College's Julia Vineyard.

Shields led Averett with 11 kills. In the process, she broke the USA South and Averett career record for kills, previously held by Bren Taylor. Shields entered the day at 1,999 kills, one away from the record. Her 11 give her 2,010 over her first three seasons.

Williams added nine kills and 12 digs, while sophomores Emily Stanley and Keenan Marks had 18 digs and 33 assists, respectively.

Corey led Meredith with 15 kills and Blaylock had 39 assists and nine digs to pace the Angels, who avenged a 3-1 loss to Averett in the regular season finale that decided the East Division crown.

Although the loss likely ends Averett's season, the Cougars won their 16th conference championship of some kind, produced the USA South Coach of the Year (Danny Miller), the USA South Player of the Year (Shields for the second consecutive year) and four all-conference selections.