DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University volleyball team finished the 24 Annual Cougar Classic on Saturday as the Cougars fell to Roanoke College, 3-0, prior to defeating Guilford College 3-1 in the tournament finale.
 
Averett (2-2) and Roanoke (3-1) played a back and forth first set. Sophomore Brooke Aaron collected a kill to cut the Maroon lead to 22-21. However, Roanoke would collect the next three points to close out Set 1. Roanoke held a 19-15 lead in Set 2, but Averett would not go away and rather rattled off four straight points via two attack errors by the Maroons and two kills from freshman Zamyiah Mangum and sophomore McKenzie Miller to knot things up.
 
Roanoke responded with three consecutive points of their own which helped them pull away from Averett in Set 2. Roanoke used this momentum into Set 3 as the Maroons built a 16-10 edge. Averett would again respond to cut the Roanoke lead to 19-17. The Maroons would stop the comeback, though, and go on to win the third set 25-17.
 
Aaron led the team with 12 kills while registering nine digs.
 
Averett ended their weekend with a matchup with Guilford (2-2). The Cougars jumped on the Quakers from the outset building a 15-8 advantage on the scoreboard which forced a Guilford timeout. Averett would stave off the Quakers the rest of the way and cruise to a 25-18 Set 1 victory. Guilford turned things around in the second frame as the Quakers had a 9-6 lead about midway through the set. Averett, though, kept battling and went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead. A pair of kills from senior Jordan Pitzer, combined with a service ace from freshman Tessa Kaesmeyer and three Guilford errors gave Averett the lead on the scoreboard. The Cougars would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way as Averett won Set 2, 25-22.
 
Guilford held a 22-16 lead in Set 3 and the Cougars would strike back once again as Averett went on an 8-2 run to tie the match at 24. A Cougar attack error and a kill from Guilford would seal things for the Quakers in the third set. Averett wasted no time in closing out the Quakers in Set 4 as the Cougars scored the first five points of the set. From here, Averett would pull away for a 20-7 advantage on the scoreboard before securing the victory with a 25-12 win in Set 4.
 
Aaron recorded a career-high in kills with 18 in addition to posting nine digs. Sophomore McKenzie Miller finished the match with nine kills, 26 assists and 12 digs while senior Keenan Marks had 22 assists of her own. Senior Emily Stanley led the team with 22 digs.
 
Averett travels to take on the University of Lynchburg on Wednesday, Sept. 5. First serve is set for 7 p.m.