The Basics
Score: Roanoke 1 | Meredith 3 (25-16, 10-25, 16-25, 24-26)

Records: Maroons 0-1 | Avenging Angels 1-0
Location: Salem, Va.

The Lead: The Maroons kicked off the 2021 volleyball season with a visit from Meredith College to the Cregger Center. The Maroons raced out to a 1-0 lead before seeing the visitors from Raleigh rattled off three consecutive set wins for the 3-1 victory.

Highlights:

• Roanoke registered 14 kills with just one error in a fist set that saw the Maroons win 25-16.
• Trailing 5-3, a kill by Peyton Kirchner and two by Linsey Bailey sparked a 5-0 run that would see the Maroons take the lead and never look back in set number one.
• The Avenging Angels would even the match at a set apiece thanks to a 12 kill, zero error second frame. Roanoke would start to see the miscues mount, nine in the set, with just eight kills.
• The break between sets did little to slow down the visitors as Meredith used an 11-3 run in the early stages of the set to take the third, 25-16, for a 2-1 advantage.
• Roanoke battled back and in the fourth stanza, the Maroons would see a 21-17 advantage after two Rylee Mayer and one Angel Ross kill. However, Meredith would answer with four straight points to tie the set at 21-21.
• Roanoke scored on the next two points for a 23-21 edge, but three miscues in the next four points would see the Angels take the set, 26-24, and the match 3-1.
• Bailey finished with 19 kills while Mayer added six. Kennedy Clemmer led the team with 18 digs with the setting tandem of Olivia Newman (18) and Logan Pasley (15) accounting for 33 of the Maroon's 39 assists.

Up next: Roanoke travels to Danville to compete in the 2021 Cougar Classic hosted by Averett University. The Maroons play two matches on Friday before wrapping up play with two more matches on Saturday.