GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Guilford College volleyball team (5-11, 2-1 ODAC) split its two matches Saturday at the Ragan-Brown Field House, falling to Shenandoah University (6-5, 2-2 ODAC) in three sets before rallying for a five-set victory over Carolina University (3-4). The Quakers fell to Shenandoah, 25-16, 25-16, 25-18, before defeating Carolina University, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 15-9.
GAME ONE
The Quakers finished the opening match with 27 kills, 25 assists, 30 digs, four aces, and six blocks while hitting .086. Shenandoah Shenandoah recorded 35 kills, 34 assists, 39 digs, 12 aces, and eight blocks while hitting .300. Olivia Thorne( Huntersville, N.C.) led Guilford with nine kills, while Chrisbel Alcántara (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added eight and Jayanna Spurgeon (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded six. Jillian Mapes (Hodges, S.C.) led the offense with 17 assists, while Vivian Cavataio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) paced the defense with 12 digs. Alcántara added three blocks.
Guilford took a 2-1 lead to start the first set, but shortly after gave up two stretches of points allowing Shenandoah to take a 13-5 lead. The two teams traded points back and forth, with kills by Thorne, Alcàntara, and Spurgeon, and an ace by Pasour to go on a four point run, coming within four points of the Hornets. Shenandoah took the first point, 25-16, after taking four points in a row to end the set.
In the second set, each team took two points, followed by three each in the first possessions. After going back and forth keeping the score tight, Shenandoah exploded with a seven point run, to take a 16-8 lead. The Hornets continued to dominate the set, and took set two, 25-16, as well.
The Quakers came out of the break with fire, tacking on four points before the Hornets added one. Shenandoah answered with a five-point run of their own. While the Quakers scored their most points in a set (18), they were not able to to force a fourth set, despite coming within three points of the Hornets. Shenandoah took four points in a row to close out the set 25-18, and the game.
GAME TWO
In the second game of the day, Guilford finished with 70 kills, 67 assists, 82 digs, 11 aces, and six blocks while hitting .270. Carolina University recorded 61 kills, 55 assists, 76 digs, seven aces, and 10 blocks while hitting .249. Chrisbel Alcántara led Guilford with a career-high 19 kills while hitting .356, while Olivia Roberts (Claremont, Calif.) added 16 kills on .500 hitting and Olivia Thorne recorded 15 kills. Jillian Mapes led the offense with 44 assists, while Vivian Cavataio paced the defense with 27 digs. Karly Peacock (Honolulu, Hawaii) added 15 digs and recorded a team-high five aces.
The Quakers dominated early in the first set of play, taking a 23-13 lead against Carolina, before the Bears went on a 12 point run to take the first set against GC.
Guilford battled back, trading points back and forth early with the Bruins, but eventually pulled away in the middle of the set. Guilford's offense took over, recording 19 kills while hitting .372 to take the set, 25-23, and even the score at 1-1.Â
The third set played out in similar fashion, with the teams trading points back and forth, Guilford taking a six-point lead in the middle of the set, and Carolina evening the score at 20. The teams traded points to come even once again at 23, but GC pulled away with the final two points of the set, taking the lead 2-1.
Carolina University answered in the fourth set, recording 15 kills while Guilford finished with 16. The Bruins pulled away late to force a deciding fifth set with a 25-22 victory.
The decisive set of the afternoon proved to be the fifth. Two Quakers' kills (Roberts, Alcántara) followed by three attack errors by the Bruins brought Guilford a third of the way to 15. Carolina tacked on only nine points with a -.071 hitting percentage, which led the Quakers to victory, closing out the match 15-9.
The Guilford College volleyball team returns to action Wednesday, September 30, hosting Randolph College at 7:00 PM at the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse.
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