DANVILLE, Va. - The NC Wesleyan College volleyball team fell 3-0 to ODAC foe Washington & Lee University in game one of the Averett Cougar Classic on Friday afternoon.
W&L slid to the win by scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-13. Wesleyan played well attacking in the first set hitting .281 with 11 kills, but could not stop the WLU attack as they had 17 kills and hit .455.
The second set was more of the same for WLU with 14 kills and hitting .387 while Wesleyan totaled 9 kills and hit .231.
Senior right side hitters Sydney Barnwell and Michaela Seawell each led the Bishops with 7 kills apiece while Barnwell hit a team-best .462 with 2 aces. Seawell also had two aces and 5 digs.
Junior libero Kira Kristjanson led the way with 15 digs defensively while sophomore setter Sloan Martin had 20 assists and a kill. Senior middle Lauren Weaver also tallied 5 kills and a block.
Wesleyan, 1-1, next battled Roanoke College later Friday in the second match of the AU Classic.
NCWC 3, ROANOKE 1
Wesleyan then rolled to a comeback win in their second match of the day ousting the Maroons of Roanoke in four sets, 3-1. Wesleyan lost in the first set 19-25 before reeling off three straight set wins, 25-18, 25-21, and 25-23 with a big kill from senior Caitlin Leggett to clinch the win.
Wesleyan totaled 45 kills in the match including 16 in a pivotal third set where they hit .464 en route to the win. Wesleyan also hit .280 or better in the 2nd and 4th sets along with double-digit kills as well.
Barnwell led the way again for the Bishops recording 13 kills with no errors while hitting .686 with 2 aces and a block. Seawell also played very well tallying 12 kills with 9 digs, two aces, and two blocks as she narrowly missed a double-double. Sloan Martin, as the setter, also registered 38 assists with 7 digs, 2 kills, and 3 assisted blocks.
Weaver then added 9 kills and 7 total blocks in the middle with Kristjanson posting 16 digs as the libero.
The 2-1 Bishops next return to action Saturday at 11 AM to battle Guilford College in Danville.