DANVILLE, Va. - Head Coach Kelsey Goodman picked up her first coaching win as a Quaker as the Guilford College volleyball team broke-even on opening day at the 30th Annual Cougar Classic, hosted by Averett University at the E. Stuart James Grant Center on Friday afternoon. GC fell at the hands of Methodist University, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14) in the early contest before outlasting Bob Jones University 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 25-16, 25-18, 15-9) in a thriller in their second game. 
 
Guilford comes out of day one with a record of 1-1, with Methodist equaling that mark on the day. Meanwhile, Bob Jones opened their season 0-2.
 
Kaci Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) and Natalie Moore (Talbott, Tenn.) led the GC offense in the early contest with eight kills each in the match, with Moore adding seven digs, a team-high three aces, and two blocks. Johnson walked away with game-high five blocks along with one ace and an assist. Maddi Page (Jonesboro, Ga.) dished out team-best of 19 assists and flexed her defensive game with seven digs. Kaylinda Curtis (Greensboro, N.C.) led the way defensively for the Quakers with a team-high of nine digs.  
 
As for the opponents, Jamie Holton brought the house down with a game-high of 14 kills. Joining the leaders in the kill category were Savannah Hovander with 11 and Jeanana Fowler with eight. Carlyn Tanis issued the game-high of four aces. Hannah Hewett was the contest's top distributor with a game-high 37. Blake O'Brien was the game-leader for digs as she walked away with 17, followed by junior Jamie Holton with ten.
 
Chrisbel Alcantara (San Juan, P.R.) dominated the second contest for GC, finishing with an impressive 18-kill, 16-dig double-double while swinging at a superb .368 rate. Moore and Johnson joined her in double-figures with 16 and 14 kills respectively. Page came just a couple assists shy of her 2023 high-watermark with 52 in the game. Finally, Vivian Cavataio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) equaled Alcantara with the team-best mark of 16 digs.
 
Faith Blalock was a standout player for Bob Jones as she collected 18 kills and 17 digs. Stefani Burke contributed to BJU's energy with 11 kills alongside Hannah Goodwin with ten kills. Elyse Vest had a team-high 29 assists while Hayley Prater collected 16, and Lois Bido dished out three. Anne Lloyd gathered 19 digs alongside Lyndsey Cassell with 13.
 
GAME ONE
The stage was set after two back-to-back, hefty rallies where both the Quakers and Monarchs displayed razor sharp focus. Communication was at an all-time high and the first two points of the set belonged to Guilford. It was not long before Tanis, with the help of Hewett, got the green and gold on the board. There was a sequence where Guilford capitalized off of Methodists' mistakes and extended the lead to 6-4. After trading points, the score was all tied up until control belonged to the Monarchs with kills by Holton, Hovander, and an attack error by Moore to make it 9-8. After some back and forth, MU went on a 4-0 run consisting of attacking errors and kills from Holton and Hovander. Moore ended the Guilford scoring drought with a kill. Ultimately, however, Methodist won the set 25-22.
 
Set two began with the Quakers striking back with a 3-0 run. The Monarchs quickly grabbed the advantage back with a 6-0 run due to serving, kills, and an attack error. Zoe Whisnant (Greensboro, N.C) continued to give a quick spark for GC with a kill to end the Methodist run. However, the 5-0 run for MU contained kills, attacking errors, and an ace to make the score 17-9. Johnson broke the streak followed by attacking errors from Tanis and Holton. The green and gold extend their lead to 20-13. Errors and kills brought the Quakers a 3-0 run, but the Monarchs came out on top 25-18.
 
Methodist kept the same energy with a strong start to set three. Kills by both Kaci Johnson and Vanessa Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) made a difference right before the 6-0 lead by MU. Methodist service errors and a Guilford kill from freshman Marie Hall (High Point, N.C.), occurred shortly after. A few Holton and Hovander-kills and some attacking errors paved the way for MU to make it 22-8. A Kaci Johnson-kill, attacking errors, and an ace brought Guilford to a 5-0 run. Methodist reached the finish line first and won the third set 25-14.
 
GAME TWO
It was a back and forth battle between Bob Jones and Guilford until the Quakers created a 5-0 cushion.  Kills from Moore, Vanessa Johnson, Kaci Johnson, Hall, Alcantara, and Page displayed toughness and resilience despite the outcome from a few hours prior. Points were tossed back and forth until Bruins went on a 4-0 run to make the score 11-10. The two teams have quick bursts of success with Guilford winning the set 25-23 thanks to Alcantara and her fourth kill of the set.
 
During the second set, GC raced to get on the board first, but the BJU 6-0 run was more prominent. Hall, Moore, and Alcantara all contributed to the short Quaker spurt. These teams were trading points and tested their might when Alcantara showed dominance with a kill to make the game 17-16. A kill by Vanessa Johnson, Moore, and Alcantara brought attention to the Bruins, but in the end Bob Jones needed an extra point, but took the set, 26-24.
 
Set three started off strong for Guilford with a 3-0 run against Bob Jones. BJU went on a run of their own soon after, but it was no match for Kaci Johnson, Alcantara, and Curtis as they helped spark a 6-0 run for the Quakers. The Bruins stopped the bleeding temporarily, but a 5-0 run from Guilford followed soon enough. Kills, blocks, and service errors were the name of the end of the game with the Quakers winning set three 25-16.
 
When set four began, the grit in both Guilford and Bob Jones was apparent. Back-to-back Alcantara kills forced BJU to go on a 4-0 run as a response. After said-run, yet another Alcantara kill ignited the Quakers to create their own run of 4-0. However, the Bruins put the pedal to the metal by finishing out the set with a couple of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run to make the score 25-18.
 
The final set of day one was where Guilford showed their stamina. They had a 3-0 start and only allowed Bob Jones to score back to back twice throughout the entire set to 15. Thanks to Kaci Johnson, Moore, and Page, it gave the team confidence to finish out the match.
 
Guilford is back in action for day two of the Cougar Classic tomorrow, Saturday Aug. 31st against Meredith College at 10 a.m. and Salem College at 2 p.m.
 
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