Greensboro, N.C. - The Greensboro College Volleyball team welcomed a pair of USA South Athletic Conference foes for a spirited night of play in raucous Hanes Gym on Friday night.

The tri-match would find Pfeiffer University and North Carolina Wesleyan University joining the Pride with conference standing positioning up for grabs. As the last ball bounced, all three teams would head back to their respective campuses with a win and a loss on their record.

The Pride faced North Carolina Wesleyan in the afternoon matinee and found the Bishops to be a scrappy bunch and the 3 -0 sweep would not be indicative of the closeness of the match.

Set 1 would find the Bishops remaining somewhat close until some of their own miscues allowed the Pride to turn a 13-10 lead into an 18-10 advantage. The Bishops would again claw back to within four, until Kelci Brooks would squelch the comeback with an emphatic kill aided by the assist from Jaylyn "The Maestro" Templeton. The Pride would go on to win the set 25-20 and take a one set lead.

Set 2 found the Pride getting off to a quick start and held a comfortable lead. The margin ballooned to seven as the Pride lead was 18-11. The Bishops had a rally that would find them scoring 9 of the next 10 points as Head Coach Kevin Troup's troops would find themselves in a tight one suddenly. However, a pair of Kills by Kantley McKown and one apiece for Taylor Cotie and Brooks would prove to be too much for the Bishops as the Pride would take a favorable 2-0 set lead with a 25-22 victory.

It would have been easy for the Bishops to be deflated going into their must win set but they would show great resolve. An early Pride lead would slowly dissipate as the score would be tied at 24. But a Bishop error and a Templeton service ace would end the match as the Pride would bring out the brooms in their opener.

In the nightcap versus Pfeiffer, a kill be Cotie would give the Pride an early 6-5 lead in Set 1 and a pair of late scoring runs by each team would decide the early leader in the match. The Pride would score 5 of 6 points later as a single point deficit would turn into a 22-19 lead. But unfortunately for the Pride, the Falcons had the final run as they scored the next 6 points in a row to snatch a 25-22 victory in Set 1.

Set 2 would find the Falcons racing out to the quick lead, but power shots by Taylor and McKown would highlight a four-point run as the Pride would battle back to square at 9's. The Pride would then take a 13-12 advantage, but the Falcons took over from there by scoring 7 of the next 8 points and cruise to a 25-21 win and the enviable position of a 2-0 set lead over the home standing Pride.

Set 3, a win or head to the showers set for the Pride, began poorly and the prevailing thought this team could be suffering from fatigue. However, the Pride showed pride as they turned a 10-5 deficit into a 15-15 tie fueled be Jade Vrobel's pair of kills. The remainder of the set would remain close, but Taylor Cotie would put her stamp on the outcome with her "power game" and the Pride would survive overtime as the would remain alive with a 27-25 squeaker.

Set 4 would be another must win for the Pride. A Falcon six-point run would give them a 13-8 lead and the situation for the Pride was looking ominous. At 16-12, the Pride would begin their best run of the night as they reeled off an impressive 8 to 1 streak as they sent a barrage of lasers raining down on the Falcons from the foursome of Hancock, Vrobel, Brooks, and McKown, to the delight of the energized Pride faithful. Greensboro would claim the 4th set by a 25-21 score as Falcons misplays and a kill by Templeton allowed the Pride to score the final 4 points of the set.

Now, the 5th and final set would be the difference maker as the Pride had extricated themselves from their shallow grave and would have a chance to shock the Falcons with an epic comeback. Set 5 would not start well for the Pride as they found themselves down 8-3; and with the tiebreak set only playing to 15 points the Pride would again have another hill to climb to win the match. Yet again, the Pride would not down quietly as they scraped and clawed back to within two points on two occasions, only to fall 15-13 to the Falcons snapping a mini-two game win streak.

2 Matches Statistic Leaders:
Kills- Taylor Cotie – 26 Abey Hancock - 21
Assists- Jaylyn Templeton – 84
Digs- Lauren Mantel – 37 Kelci Brooks – 32
Aces- Kelci Brooks 4

Head Coach Kevin Troup had these comments after a long day and night of USA South conference play: "We matched up against two very good USA South opponents Friday afternoon. The team played well in both matches. Unfortunately, we got behind in the second match. We battled back and showed some true fight by forcing a fifth set. I am very proud of this young Pride team."

The Greensboro Pride Volleyball team (7-8) will be back at historic Hanes Gym on Wednesday, September 28th at 7:00PM as they battle the Tornados of Brevard College.

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