GREENSBORO, N.C. – The William Peace volleyball team hit the road again this afternoon for a pair of USA South matches against the Fighting Squirrels of Mary Baldwin and the Pride of Greensboro College. The Pacers swept Mary Baldwin but then lost to the Pride, 3-0.
WPU (4-12, 2-1 USAS) got off to a slow start against the Fighting Squirrels in their first match of the day. Of the team's 15 attack errors during the match, nine of them came in the first set. The Pacers took their first lead at 11-10 and went ahead by as many as four behind an 8-2 run. Mary Baldwin (0-13, 0-3) tied things up at 18, but Peace held on, 25-23.
Peace used a 7-0 spurt jumping ahead, 8-3, in the second, but just like in the previous set, Mary Baldwin weathered the storm. It was back and forth the rest of the way until a 4-0 swing in favor of the Squirrels tied the score at 22. WPU managed to get their second 25-23 win.
The Pacers controlled the momentum in third until Mary Baldwin went on a 6-0 run making it a 15-13 game. A timeout called by head coach Kevin Daniels got WPU back on track though as they closed out the set on a 10-2 run to take the set, 25-15, and the match.
Megan Mansfield paced the attack with 11 kills hitting .381 to go along with three service aces and three block assists. Tempestt Frazier had seven kills and a block solo, while Merica Ivey added five kills at a clip of .444, two block assists, and a service ace.
Baylee Maughon led the team with 18 assists and Sarah Weavil added 10 in her one set of action. Carson William had a team high 10 digs.
It was a back-and-forth affair the entire way in the team's second match against Greensboro (9-4, 3-0 USAS). The Pacer's inability to control the service line and overall lack of chemistry cost them a chance at the win.
The first set was tied eight times up to the 10-10 mark, but a 10-1 run sparked Greensboro to the 25-18 victory.
It was 16-16 and tied for the ninth time in the second until Greensboro went on a 5-0 spurt to jump ahead, 21-16. The Pacers fought off four set points trailing 24-19, but they fell short, 25-23.
Peace was down 15-7 in the third but cut their deficit to three after a 5-0 swing. The Pacers eventually tied it up at 20 and went ahead, 24-22, but they squandered two straight set points as Greensboro went on a 4-0 run to close the match, 26-24.
"Control the service line and we win," said head coach Kevin Daniels. "Today was a missed opportunity."
The Pacers will return to action on the road Wednesday, Sep. 24 at 7:00 p.m. against the Monarch of Methodist University.
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