RALEIGH, N.C. — Averett University volleyball opened USA South Conference play with a big 3-1 road win at Meredith College on Wednesday night. The Cougars won by scores of 25-23, 28-26, 14-25 and 25-23.
 
Averett (4-9, 1-0 USA South) put away Meredith (6-6, 0-1 USA South) by overcoming a slow start in the fourth set in which the Cougars trailed 10-5. Averett fought back to win the next five points to knot it, 10-10. Although Meredith inched back in front 15-11, Averett again rallied for a five-point swing to take a 16-15 advantage. The two conference rivals battled toe-to-toe to a 23-23 tie. Following an Averett timeout, the Cougars got back-to-back kills from sophomore Sarah Shropshire to clinch the win on the Avenging Angels' home court.

The Cougars took momentum with a first-set win despite trailing 23-21 in the opening game. Averett put together four straight points, capped by freshman Morgan Barnes' kill, to win the set. That energy carried over into the second set as Averett built an 11-7 lead. However, Meredith stayed close before eventually tying it 18-18. Both teams had set point before Averett eventually won in extra points, 28-26, on a Shropshire kill.

Ahead 2-0 in the match, Averett quickly fell behind early in Set 3 and couldn't recover. Meredith cruised to a 25-14 win in the third game, and the Avenging Angels looked poised to carry that positive momentum into a Set 4 win before the Cougars answered the challenge late.

Shropshire and freshman Lauren Montren led Averett with 13 kills apiece. Montren finished with a double-double that included 14 digs and three blocks. Sophomore Zamyiah Mangum had a team-best 19 digs to go with nine kills, while junior Myka Patterson added 14 digs. Barnes finished with eight kills while hitting .615. Junior McKenzie Miller totaled 42 assists and five kills from the setter position.

Averett travels to Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday for a conference tri-match with host Methodist University and N.C. Wesleyan College.