Rocky Mount, NC. — North Carolina Wesleyan delivered an electric Homecoming performance Saturday morning inside Everett Gymnasium, battling Greensboro College through five intense sets in front of the home crowd.
The Battling Bishops set the tone immediately, fighting through 12 ties and seven lead changes in the opening set before coming away with a 25-22 victory. After Greensboro answered with a 25-20 win in the second, Wesleyan responded in a big way in the third. The Bishops recorded 17 kills in the frame and battled through nine ties and six lead changes before taking the set 25-21 to grab a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Greensboro forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth, setting up a dramatic finish. The final frame featured six more ties and two lead changes as the Bishops continued to battle point-for-point before Greensboro ultimately pulled away late for a 15-11 win and the 3-2 match victory. Across the five sets, the match featured an incredible 36 ties and 20 lead changes.
North Carolina Wesleyan received strong offensive contributions throughout the lineup. Savannah Banks and Ashley Hinton each finished with 12 kills, while Sadie Schramm added 12 of her own in just three sets of action. Kendall Gleason contributed eight kills, Brooklynn Covic added seven and Lillian Rafferty finished with five.
Emilee Wilson continued to command the Wesleyan offense with an impressive 50 assists while also collecting 16 digs and adding a service ace. Her distribution helped six different Bishops record at least five kills in the match.
The Bishops were outstanding defensively, finishing with 113 total digs. Jadyn Smith and Brooke Mandozzi led the effort with 24 digs apiece, while Hinton added 23. Wilson chipped in 16 digs and Chloe Baggett added 12 as Wesleyan repeatedly extended rallies throughout the five-set battle.
Wesleyan also recorded eight service aces and six solo blocks, with Gleason leading the effort at the net with three solo blocks and three block assists. The Battling Bishops finished with 59 kills in an intense Homecoming matchup that went down to the final set.
