Guilford College

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Guilford College volleyball team (4-10, 2-0 ODAC) defeated Eastern Mennonite University (3-6, 0-2 ODAC) in three sets (25-20, 25-21, 26-24) to improve to 2-0 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play, Friday night in the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse.

The Quakers finished the match with 39 kills and an overall .167 hitting percentage. Guilford held the advantage in aces (11-8), digs (51-44), and assists (38-29), while the Royals made 10 blocks to the Quakers' three.

Olivia Thorne (Huntersville, N.C.) led the Quakers offensively with 10 kills, while Olivia Roberts (Claremont, Calif.) added nine kills and Chrisbel Alcántara (San Juan, Puerto Rico) recorded eight. Jillian Mapes (Hodges, S.C.) recorded a team-high five aces. Vivian Cavataio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) led the defensive effort with 11 digs, followed by Karly Peacock (Honolulu, Hawaii) with 10 and Mapes with nine. 

The Quakers and the Royals traded points back and forth, until Guilford opened up a more extended lead midway through the first set that started with a Thorne kill, followed by an ace by Haley Pasour (Winterville, N.C.) and two Royals attack errors. Points 22 through 24 for the Quakers came from back-to-back-to-back aces by Peacock, and the set ended on a Royals service error. 

The second set started in a similar fashion until the Quakers went on a four-point run to go from an 10-8 lead to 14-8. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, but the Royals were never able to take a lead, despite coming within three points of the Quakers. The second set ended on a service error by Eastern Mennonite to give GC their final point.

What would become the final set of the night began with a short EMU lead, off back-to-back attack errors from the Quakers. Guilford took a lead in the middle of the set, on a combination of kills by Alcántara, Roberts, and Pasour, as well as an ace by Maiya Yeaton (Colorado Springs, Colo.), taking a 13-9 lead. It was quickly matched by EMU, which then extended to a 22-16 lead, prompting a Quakers time out. Out of the time out, GC tacked on five in a row before the Royals added another two to reach their set point. Kills by Jayanna Spurgeon (Duncan, S.C.) and Roberts, and two attack errors, followed by a EMU rotation error, which gave the Quakers the 26th point they needed to complete the third set, and sweep of Eastern Mennonite. 

The Quakers are back in action at home tomorrow, hosting Shenandoah University and Carolina University for a ti-match. Game one against Shenandoah will begin at 11:00 PM, and GC will take on Carolina at 3:00 PM. 

#GoQuakes