Fayetteville, N.C. - North Carolina Wesleyan's soccer and volleyball teams were all in action on Wednesday in Fayetteville, dropping at trio of close league matches to the rival Monarchs of Methodist University.  Both men's and women's soccer fell by 2-1 scores, while volleyball suffered a tough 3-2 defeat.

In women's soccer action, the Bishops (3-6, 0-4 USA South) got off to a promising start as senior Chelsea Laurens recorded the first goal of the match at the 6:00 mark, with Jade Gold earning the assist. The Monarchs’ Victoria Martins, however, tallied scores in the 19th and 28th minutes to give MU a 2-1 advantage at the half. With a scoreless second period, Martins' second goal would be enough to secure the win for the Monarchs.

On the men's side, Wesleyan (3-5-1, 2-1 USA South) was forced into its fourth straight overtime match of the season. After a scoreless opening periord, the Monarchs were the first to get on the board with a goal by Sean MacDonald in the 61st minute off a free kick from David Korneliusson. The Bishops answered less than five minutes later with a header from sophomore Malick Chune that was fed from senior Leifur Kristjansson. The 1-1 score held through the end of regulation and the first overtime, but at the 105:56 mark, MU’s Mike Ilodigwe netted the Golden Goal to claim the win for the Monarchs.

Finally, in volleyball, NCWC (3-13, 2-5 USA South) dropped a heartbreaking five-setter (25-20, 19-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-10). Trailing 11-9 in the deciding fifth set, the Bishops watched as MU's Allison Graves recorded back-to-back kills to give her squad a 4-point cushion from which NCWC would not recover. Freshmen Tori Stewart and Evie Hunter notched 17 and 10 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Kayla White racked up 30 assists. Freshman Christina Huber anchored the defensive effort with 21 digs.

All three squads are back in action this weekend. Volleyball kicks off Homecoming weekend on Friday night when the Bishops host Eastern Mennonite at 7:00pm, which will be followed by a USA South Play Day that begins at 10:00am Saturday morning. Men’s and women’s soccer return to Scalf Field that same day to host the Panthers of Ferrum College at 2:00pm and 4:00pm.