written by Mary Catherine Davis, SID intern
DANVILLE, Va. - The NC Wesleyan Volleyball Team dropped two matches to Averett University 3-2 and Meredith College 3-0 on the road Saturday, ending the season for the Bishops.
AVERETT 3, NCWC 2
The Bishops dropped a five set heartbreaker to the Cougars of Averett University 2-3 in a long five-setter 27-29, 25-23,14-25, 25-22, and 10-15.
Wesleyan totaled more kills than the Cougars in the first set 16-14, but had more errors in falling 29-27. The Bishops then had less kills in the second set 14-9 but forced many more Averett errors to steal the set by two points. After AU dominated the third set, NCWC came back with 15 kills in the fourth to take it 25-22. Then, in the fifth set, Wesleyan got out to a 9-7 lead forcing an AU timeout, but unfortunately, then dropped 8 of the final 9 points to lose the match.
Senior OH Michaela Seawell led the offense with 18 kills and two aces and 15 digs for a double-double. Senior middle hitter Lauren Weaver followed with 12 kills and 6 blocks, while junior OH Aubrey Nicholson tallied 11 kills. Sophomore setter Sloan Martin added 39 assists and one ace to the offensive effort and had 18 digs for a double-double.
Junior libero Kira Kristjanson led the defense with 22 digs, followed by senior DS Mary Catherine Davis with 12 digs and Nicholson with 11 digs.
Weaver added two solo blocks and four block assists to the defense at the net. Sydney Barnwell, Desiree Walker, and Nicholson each earned two block assists. Senior OH Caitlin Leggett also added one block assist.
This was the last conference matchup between the two teams before Averett's move to the ODAC next season.
MEREDITH 3, NCWC 0
The Bishops were defeated by the Avenging Angels of Meredith College 0-3, losing 14-25, 24-26, and 11-25. Wesleyan totaled 15 kills in the second set while hitting .224, but fell just 2 point short hurting their comeback attempt.
Seawell led the offense again with 10 kills as well as 10 digs for a double-double , followed by Nicholson with 6 kills, Weaver with 5 kills, and Barnwell with 4 kills. Setter Sloan Martin totaled 26 assists for the match with 2 kills and 11 digs for another double-double.
Kristjanson earned 17 digs while Nicholson also had 8 digs. Weaver, Martin, Nicholson, and Barnwell also added one block assist each at the net.
The Avenging Angels outhit the Bishops .270 to .126, combining their 10 service aces and two solo blocks for the sweep.
The NC Wesleyan Volleyball Team finishes their best season since 2012 at 18-13 overall and 9-9 in conference play. Unfortunately, the losses drops the Bishops to a sixth place finish in the USA South East Division, as they lose the 5th seed tiebreaker to 9-9 Pfeiffer University due to Pfeiffer defeating Averett ealrier this season. Pfieffer will now battkle Averett in the 4-5 matchup in the upcoming conference tournament.