WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Averett University volleyball edged conference rival Meredith College 3-2 in five sets after sweeping host Salem College 3-0 in Friday's USA South Conference tri-match. The comeback win over Meredith proved to be valuable. Thanks to Meredith's 3-1 loss to Salem later in the evening, the Cougars clinched their third consecutive USA South East Division crown and fourth in five seasons.
After winning the opening set against Meredith 25-20, Averett (27-3, 14-0 USA South) dropped the next two sets — 25-15 and 25-21 — and found itself with its back against the wall. Yet, the Cougars responded in the fourth set. Averett grew its initial 10-5 lead into a 19-10 advantage. Meredith (13-11, 10-3 USA South) didn't go away quietly, closing the gap to 22-20 and forcing an Averett timeout.Although the Cougars won the ensuing point on sophomore
Brianna Williams' kill, the Avenging Angels took the next two points to trim Averett's lead to 23-22. The Cougars managed to hang on and put Meredith away with a kill by senior
Lynsey Corriher and an Angels attacking error to force the deciding fifth set.
Meredith quickly raced to a 5-1 advantage before Averett won the next three points to get back within one. Still, the Avenging Angels answered back and extended their lead to 11-6 in the first-to-15 frame. The Cougars took advantage of a few hitting errors to sneak back into it, and a pair of kills by Williams pulled Averett within 12-11. Following a Meredith timeout, the Angels went up 13-11 on Alex Hafliger's kill. However, a service error and an attack error swung the lead into Averett's favor, 14-13, for the first time all set. Although Meredith tied it at 14-14 on Caroline Corey's kill, anther service error put Averett in position for match point. The Cougars didn't hesitate, and senior
Hannah Shields solidified the comeback with a kill to seal the victory and extend Averett's winning streak to 39 matches in regular season conference games.
Corriher had a stellar game, notching a team-high 16 kills with a .303 hitting percentage and seven digs. Shields added 11 kills and 10 digs, while Williams had nine kills. Junior
Emily Stanley led the team with 17 digs, followed by junior
Keenan Marks' 17 digs to go with 27 assists. Freshman
McKenzie Miller chipped in with 13 assists and sophomore
Madison Dadez had six total blocks.
To open the day, Averett faced off against Salem (20-9, 9-5 USA South). The Cougars won in three, topping the Spirits 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. Shields led the way for Averett with her double-double of 17 kills and 19 digs — both team-highs. Shields hit .324 for the match. Williams added eight kills and two blocks, while senior
Sarah Smoot and Dadez each had six kills, with Dadez finishing with two blocks. Marks totaled 17 assists and nine digs, Miller had 18 assists and eight digs and senior
Christiana Summa totaled eight digs for the Cougars.
With the clinching of the USA South East Division, Averett will host a first round matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Averett hosts Greensboro College on Wednesday for its Dig Pink match to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
