GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Guilford College volleyball team (3-10, 1-0 ODAC) battled Salem College (9-3, 1-1 USA South) Tuesday night at the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse, falling to the Spirits after taking the first two sets (25-20, 28-18, 23-25, 26-28, 12-15). Jillian Mapes (Hodges, S.C.) reached a career milestone in the first set, recording her 1,000th career assist.
The Quakers finished the match with 64 kills, 60 assists, six aces, nine blocks and 94 digs. Guilford also posted a .229 hitting percentage compared to Salem's .155, while the Spirits held advantages in kills (66-64), assists (63-60), aces (7-6), blocks (10-9) and digs (101-94).
Olivia Thorne (Huntersville, N.C.) led the Quakers with 19 kills, while Olivia Roberts (Claremont, Calif.) added 14. Makenna Brown (Elizabethtown, Ky.) recorded a team-high 27 assists, while Mapes finished with 19 assists, 12 digs and an ace. Vivian Cavataio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) led Guilford with 34 digs, while Jayanna Spurgeon (Duncan, S.C.) tallied five blocks and eight kills.
Guilford dominated the opening two sets, controlling the pace offensively and building leads that Salem was unable to overcome. The Quakers took the opening set, 25-20, behind a strong offensive showing, with Mapes recording her 1,000th career assist during the frame. Guilford continued its momentum into the second set, pulling away from the Spirits to claim a 25-18 victory and take a 2-0 lead.
The final three sets featured a much more back-and-forth battle. Salem edged Guilford, 25-23, in the third set after the two teams traded leads throughout the frame. The fourth set was even more tightly contested, with neither team able to pull away as the Quakers and Spirits battled point-for-point into extra points. Salem eventually secured the 28-26 win to force a deciding fifth set. Guilford and Salem continued to trade points in the final frame, but the Spirits held on for the 15-12 victory to complete the comeback.
The Quakers are back at the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse on Friday, September 25, getting back into conference play against Eastern Mennonite University. The match is set to begin at 6:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
