RALEIGH, N.C. — Greensboro College volleyball (10-2, 2-1) lost to Meredith (11-1, 2-0) 3-2 on Saturday. Greensboro won the second and third sets 25-21 and 26-24, but Meredith took the fourth 25-23 and the fifth 15-8.
Greensboro stayed close early in the opening set, getting kills from
Larkin Baxley and
Abigail Leo and a Baxley-Leo block to pull within 6-5 after Meredith had moved ahead 6-3. Meredith kept Greensboro from tying it, and after Greensboro was within 13-10, Reagan Kresho and Caitlyn Russell helped a four-point run that pushed Meredith's lead to 17-10. Greensboro continued to trade points through the middle of the set, then used kills by
Dilynn Norris, Baxley and
Payton Wright to cut the margin to 23-20. Meredith answered with a Daven Brabble kill and a Brabble service ace to close the set 25-20.
Meredith built an 8-6 lead on Kennedy King's service ace and Caitlyn Russell's kill, but Greensboro came back on a Meredith attack error and a Wright-Leo block to tie the second set at 8-8. The teams traded narrow advantages from there, with Greensboro moving ahead 11-10 on a Meredith bad set, 12-11 on an
Enjoli Allen-
Skylar Rokov block, 15-14 on a Leo kill and 16-15 on a Norris-Leo block before Meredith took a 17-16 edge. Greensboro then won five straight points to move in front 21-17, the last four on
Grace Young's serve, and closed the set 25-21 after Meredith pulled within 24-21.
After Meredith moved in front 9-7 on a Scarlet Griffin ace, Greensboro answered with five straight points, including a
Morgan Mayfield ace and a Leo kill from
Payton Shiflet, to take a 12-9 lead. Greensboro stayed ahead through the middle of the set, with Wright, Shiflet, Allen and Norris adding kills as Greensboro moved to 22-15. Meredith cut into the deficit after a Norris kill put Greensboro at 24-20, using three Caitlyn Russell kills and a Greensboro attack error to tie the set at 24-24. A Daven Brabble service error put Greensboro back in front, and a Reagan Kresho attack error on the next rally closed the set for Greensboro, 26-24.
Greensboro moved ahead 5-2 early in the fourth set, but Meredith pulled even at 5-5 and later went in front 8-7. Greensboro answered with four straight points, including a Baxley service ace and a Leo kill from Baxley, to take an 11-8 lead. Meredith responded with seven consecutive points to move ahead 15-11, with Daven Brabble serving three aces during the stretch, and later held a 19-13 advantage before an Allen kill and back-to-back
Madison Bozarth aces helped Greensboro close to 19-16. Greensboro came back from 21-17 to tie the set at 21-21 and got even again at 23-23, but Meredith took the final two points on kills by Caitlyn Russell and Scarlet Griffin to win the set 25-23.
Greensboro answered Meredith's 2-0 start with a Rokov kill and later pulled even at 3-3 when Norris and Allen combined on a block. Meredith moved back in front and built a 9-5 lead behind kills from Elena Bostick and a Greensboro attack error, then stretched the margin to 12-6 with kills by Scarlet Griffin, Reagan Kresho and Kaylie Parker. Leo put down back-to-back kills to bring Greensboro within 12-8, but Meredith scored the final three points, closing the fifth set 15-8.
Greensboro's blocking and low service-error total contrasted with a Meredith attack that produced more kills and a higher hitting percentage. Greensboro finished with 11 total blocks to Meredith's seven and committed one service error on 103 attempts, while Meredith recorded 67 kills at a .153 clip compared with Greensboro's 45 kills and .078. Leo helped represent Greensboro's front-row production with 11 kills and seven total blocks, and Greensboro also put together runs that moved it in front in multiple sets.
Norris led Greensboro with 12 kills and added four block assists. Leo recorded 11 kills, a team-high seven total blocks and 15 points. Mayfield collected a team-best 29 digs and added two service aces. Bozarth finished with 22 assists, 13 digs and two aces.
Up Next:
Greensboro visits Southern Virginia University on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. in Buena Vista, Virginia.
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