GREENSBORO, N.C. - Natalie Moore (Talbott, Tenn.) finished with 15.0 points, an ace, and two blocks as the Guilford College volleyball team fell to the University of Lynchburg, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) on Friday night on Jack Jensen Court in the Ragan-Brown Field House.
The Quakers stand at a 12-12 record, 6-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) while the Hornets finish with a 16-11, 8-4 in the ODAC.
Statistical leaders for the Quakers included Moore with a baker's dozen in kills alongside eight digs,
Maddi Page (Jonesboro, Ga.) with team-high 25 assists paired with eight digs, and
Madison Bozarth (Greensboro, N.C.) with 16 digs and team's second-best four assists.
Standouts for the Hornets were Leash DiNardo with 12 kills, Tori Williamson with 11 kills paired with team-high nine digs, and Jaina Leek with game-high 33 assists. Kailey Keough and Haydyn Proscia also had an effective night with nine kills coming from Keough and nine digs from Proscia.
The score swung both ways between GC and UofL towards the start of set one thanks to Lynchburg errors and to efforts from
Kaci Johnson (Winterville, N.C.), Moore, and Page. Bree Spainhour and Ava Meinhardt were the catalyst for the away team that inspired the 9-1 run due to kills from Williamson and Spainhour paired with blocking errors, making it 16-9.
Chrisbel Alcantara (San Juan, P.R.), who finished with the second highest on the team for kills with six,
Madison Duvall (Sophia, N.C.), and Moore attempted to end the Guilford slump, however, DiNardo, Keough, and Williamson made an impact for the Hornets. Despite the 9-2 run for the Quakers with the help from
Vanessa Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.), Alcantara, Duvall, and some aces from Bozarth, Lynchburg secured the set win, 25-23.
Back-to-back Moore kills and efforts from Alcantara and
Vanessa Johnson gave the Quakers energy towards the beginning of set two. An 11-1 run was soon followed by Lynchburg through service aces and two of her six kills in this set from DiNardo. Moore and
Kaci Johnson tried to keep GC afloat, but UofL fired back with kills from Ava Meinhardt and DiNardo. For
Vanessa Johnson, three of her four total kills came this set and was a part of a 9-0 sequence. Three kills from Moore stemmed from this stretch alongside an ace from
Zoe Whisnant (Greensboro, N.C.) to make it 22-21. Although the Quakers had great effort, the Hornets escaped with a set victory of 25-22.
Moore garnered three consecutive kills at the start of the final set to motivate Guilford. UofL was on a roll in set three as they capitalized on GC errors, even though two
Kaci Johnson kills were delivered to make it 8-7. Guilford started to get into the groove and leveraged the Hornets' blunders, but a 9-1 run was thrown at the Quakers thereafter. Williamson, Keough, and DiNardo stepped up for Lynchburg throughout the match, but especially in the final points. Alcantara and Moore attempted to turn things around, however the University of Lynchburg won the final set 25-17 and earned the uncontested victory, 3-0 for the match.
Guilford will play in one final regular season game for 2024 as the previously scheduled Tri-Match against North Carolina Wesleyan University and Pfeiffer University has been canceled. Although the Quakers wrap up Senior Night with a loss, Guilford is still in the dance for the ODAC tournament as Randolph College along with Shenandoah suffered recent defeats. GC will battle against Ferrum College in Ferrum, Va. on Wednesday, November 6th at 7 PM.
