WATCH: WPU vs. JWU I
WATCH: WPU vs. GuilfordRALEIGH, NC – Following five straight away from home, the William Peace University volleyball team was back at the Hermann Athletic Center on Saturday, where the Pacers improved to 6-2 with three set wins over Johnson & Wales and Guilford College.
WPU started their day against JWU (9-5), who came into the weekend riding a seven-game winning streak. The Pacers looked to have the first set under control, but they barely escaped with a 26-24 win, after the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to erase a 24-19 deficit.
JWU carried their late game momentum into the second set and had the Pacers on the ropes with a 12-6 lead, until WPU countered with an 11-0, knockout swing that all but ended things right there. The Wildcats never looked the same, as the Pacers finished them off, 25-15, in the second and 25-9 in the third.
Freshman Kennedy Paine recorded career highs with 27 assists and six kills. Defensively, Pain also chipped in with eight digs.
Laura Bland put up a game high 11 kills at an efficient .579 clip, while
Connor Davis,
Tempestt Frazier and
Lindsay Alford added five kills apiece.
Carson Williams led the Pacers with 16 digs to go along with a career high 15 digs for freshman
Breanna Cary.
The Pacers also controlled the end line with 11 more service aces than JWU (13-2). All four of Williams' aces came during WPU's second set assault. Cary added three more to go along with two each from Alford,
Maddie Irvin and
Josie Richardson.
After dropping the first two sets of a five set loss to Guilford last weekend at the Cougar Classic, WPU got off to a quicker start in Saturday's rematch with a 25-51 win in the first. Trailing by one in the second (15-14), Guilford jumped in front with a 6-0 spurt and was on the verge of evening things up with a 24-18 lead. But just like they did in their previous match against JWU, the Pacers delivered a crippling, second-set blow that stopped Guilford (1-6) dead in their tracks. WPU ripped off eight straight on their way to a 26-24 win and then closed the Quakers out, 25-11, in the third.
Once again, Paine was at the helm of the Pacers' attack with 27 assists, nine digs and a pair service aces.
Merica Ivey and
Nicole Phillips both notched a team high nine kills. Ivey also led the team with a block solo and five block assists, while Alford and Frazier added three block assists apiece. Williams was the only Pacer with double figure digs (10) to go along with her five assists. Irvin chipped in with four service aces and five digs.
The WPU volleyball team plays their next match on Wednesday, Sep. 16 at 7:00 p.m. as they host Division II Saint Augustine's.
For the latest news and updates from William Peace University Athletics, please visit: http://gopeacepacers.com/.
WIN: 3-0, WPU Volleyball vs. Johnson & Wales?
WIN: 3-0, WPU Volleyball vs. Guilford
