Rocky Mount, NC. — North Carolina Wesleyan battled Southern Virginia University through four competitive sets Monday afternoon inside Everett Gymnasium in USA South Conference action.
The Battling Bishops dropped the opening set 25-20 before responding with a strong second-set performance. Wesleyan battled through seven ties and five lead changes before pulling away for a 25-20 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
Southern Virginia regained the advantage with a 25-20 win in the third, but Wesleyan continued to battle in the fourth. The Bishops stayed within striking distance throughout the frame before the Knights narrowly closed out the match with a 25-23 victory. Across the four sets, the match featured 19 ties and 12 lead changes.
Brooklynn Covic led the Wesleyan attack with 10 kills, while Ashley Hinton added nine. Sadie Schramm and Kendall Gleason each finished with seven kills, while Lillian Rafferty contributed six and Kinsey Peel added four.
Peel directed the Battling Bishops' offense with 34 assists while also collecting 16 digs, four kills and two block assists. Jadyn Smith led the defensive effort with 24 digs, while Covic added 19. Brooke Mandozzi finished with 14 digs and Chloe Baggett added 13 as Wesleyan totaled 95 digs.
Wesleyan also made a strong impact at the net, finishing with five solo blocks and 10 block assists. Rafferty recorded two solo blocks and three block assists, Gleason added two solo blocks and two block assists, and Schramm contributed one solo block and three block assists.
The Bishops finished with 45 kills and six service aces, with Kylee Heath leading the way from the service line with two. Baggett, Covic, Mandozzi and Smith each added one ace.
