Greensboro, N.C. - The Greensboro College Volleyball Team would be facing one of the hottest teams in the USA South Athletic Conference on Thursday night in historic Hanes Gymnasium.

The Salem College Spirits would enter the match winning 8 of their last 9 contests, including a convincing win only 24 hours earlier on the road against conference undefeated William Peace University. Head Coach Kevin Troup and his troops certainly knew who was coming to town and the challenge ahead.

SET 1
The Spirits came out with energy and showed no signs of fatigue from the match which took place only 24 hours earlier. They played the Pride close and took an early 8-7 lead. The Pride would enjoy a mini run of four points via several Spirits' errors and a kill by one of the Executives at "The Power Company", Payton Shiflet. But the Spirits would come back and take control and roll to a 25-20 final score.

SET 2
This set was about some intense volleyball. The lead would see-saw back and forth as both teams would not allow themselves to fall far behind. Seven ties would accentuate the closeness of the set to this point and the score would only be 11-11.

A five point Spirits run would erase a 2-point deficit and put them ahead 18-15 in this critical set. Knowing a 2-0 set deficit is so very difficult to overcome, the youthful Pride would begin a streak of exceptional play that would prove this group of ladies had the "right stuff" to contend with all those at the top.

A pair of kills by Kelci Brooks, a pair by Shiflet, and a soaring slammer by Taylor Cotie would put the Pride up one point at 22-21. But even then, the Spirit would not fold and would again regain the lead 24-23 with the game on the line. But the Pride would step up in dramatic fashion as kills by Brooks and Shiflet, and a huge block above the net by Jade Vrobel and Brooks would seal the deal and give the Pride the exciting 26-24 overtime victory.

SET 3
This would be another tight set and after the dust settled halfway through, the Spirits and Pride would be tied at 13 in this pivotal set of play.

A kill by Cotie, assisted by Jaylen "The Maestro" Templeton, would bring the score to 15-15 and the smell of "crunch time" was in the air. A five point run highlighted with a pair of Abey Hancock floor darts, sandwiched with three Spirit errors would put the Pride up three and in good position to take the overall lead. And even thought the Spirits would not go down without a fight, Templeton would again facilitate a pair of kills by Shiflet and one by Cotie to punctuate a 25-23 set victory.

SET 4
Whether it was fatigue, or the realization that the Pride momentum was too tough to handle on this night, the final set was not indicative of what the crowd had witnessed all night. Sixteen of the 25 points were registered on kills as "The Power Company" had a board meeting and all the big hitters would attend. Their dominating path of play led to a 21-10 lead and the last two points of the match would so very fitting. Templeton assisting a kill by Shiflet would be how the boxscore would read as that would send the Pride faithful home happy with the impressive 25-16 romp in the finale.

Match Stat Leaders:
Kills- Shiflet- 24 Taylor- 12
Aces- Templeton- 5
Blocks- Vrobel- 5 Brooks- 4
Assists- Templeton- 50
Digs- Mantel- 24 Shiflet- 12

Greensboro College Head Coach Kevin Troup had these remarks after the big win: "We had great composure tonight and I am proud of how we stayed calm during the stressful situations and Salem runs. That is a very good team coming off a huge win on Tuesday night. Our defense picked up and we were able to contain one of their biggest hitters which really made a big difference."

The Greensboro College Volleyball Team (13 -10 Overall, 7-3 Conference), affectionately known as the "Fun Bunch", will next play on Friday, October 15th, in Rocky Mount, N.C. as part of a tri-match including home standing North Carolina Wesleyan College and Pfeiffer University. Games are at 5:00PM and 7:00PM.

For more information on Greensboro College Volleyball, please visit www.greensborocollegesports.com.