Greensboro, NC -- The William Peace University volleyball team concluded the final day of Guilford College Invitational as they went 2-0 on September 14th. They first defeated Guilford College in a tight match by a score of 3-2, later winning their second game against Maryville College 3-1. The Pacers now improve to 9-0 on the season, which is the best start to a season in Pacer volleyball history.

GAME ONE:

The Pacers took an early lead in set one, collecting 6 consecutive points to lead 8-2 with kills from junior Brienna Laskowski and a service ace from junior Bergin Gillespie. The Pacers would continue to control the set, leading 15-8 on a kill from senior Mya Parks. The Quakers battled back, scoring 8 in a row to lead 16-15. The rest of the set continued to be a back-and-forth matchup, with WPU leading 23-20 near the end of the set. Guilford continued to put on the pressure to tie the set 25-25, and they would go on to win the set 27-25 to lead the game 1-0.

In set two, the Quakers would dominate early as they led 7-3. The Pacers would tally 4 in a row to tie it at seven with kills from juniors Brittany Carpenter and Abby Benton. WPU would tie it up again 16-16 with a service ace from Brienna Laskowski before taking a brief 17-16 lead. The Pacers would trail 19-17 before notching 7 consecutive points with a few kills by Mya Parks to lead 24-19. A kill by Mya Parks would win the set 25-21 for WPU and tie the game 1-1.

Set three would see the Pacers falter. The beginning of the set was another back-and-forth contest with an early 3-3 tie. Guilford would take the first significant lead of the set to lead 8-4 before tallying 7 in a row to lead 15-5. WPU was unable to get anything going against the Quakers, who would win the set 25-10, giving them a 2-1 lead in the game.

In the fourth set would start with an early 4-4 tie, with kills from giving the Pacers a 7-5 lead. The Pacers would take a 10-7 lead on a kill by junior Brianna Davis before the Quaker offense got rolling to tally 8 in a row and lead 15-10. The Pacers continued to push to trail just 18-16, while a kill by Mya Parks would tie it up 23-23, and the end of the set would be a fight to the finish, with Abby Benton winning the set for the Pacers 28-26.

In the final set, WPU would start out strong with a 7-5 lead. The Pacers continued to control the set, winning 15-11 to clinch the game 3-2.

GAME TWO:

In their second game of the day, the Pacers took a 5-0 lead in the first set with a service ace by senior Sarah Scott and kills by Mya Parks. Maryville would go on a run to lead 16-12. Freshman Nancy Gamewell tied it up 18-18 for the Pacers with a kill, but the Scots would command the rest of the set to win 25-22.

In set two, the Scots would be the team to take a 5-0 lead. Kills from Mya Parks and Brianna Davis would tie the set 9-9, with the Pacers tallying 8 in a row to lead 14-9. A kill by Brittany Carpenter and a block from sophomore Jasmine Smith and Abby Benton increased the Pacer lead to 22-13. Benton would end the set 25-17 with a kill to tie up the game 1-1.
 

Set three was more of a back-and-forth contest, with Abby Benton and Bergin Gillespie giving WPU a 5-2 lead. The Pacers would go on a 6 point run to lead 14-7, and freshman Paige Emore would give the Pacers a 17-12 advantage. The Pacers would hold off the Scots, and a kill by Abby Benton would win the set 25-18 to give WPU a 2-1 lead in the game.

In the fourth and final set, the Pacers would again take an early lead, with a kill by Brianna Davis giving the team a 7-4 advantage. Mya Parks would notch 3 kills in a row for a 12-6 Pacer lead. The Scots put the pressure on to trail by just two at a score of 17-15, but WPU kept their offense rolling and won the set 25-16 to win the game 3-1.

THE BREAKDOWN:

• Mya Parks continued to lead the team offensively as she tallied 24 kills in game one and 23 in game two.
• Brittany Carpenter recorded 21 assists in game one and 47 in game two.
• Abby Benton had 3 service aces in game one, while Briana Davis had 4 blocks.

THE FOES:

• Christian Gifford led the Quakers with 16 kills, 24 digs, and 18.5 points.
• Maggie Matthews had 20 kills and 21 points in game two for the Scots, while Saidee McDaniel had 24 assists.

WHAT'S NEXT:

The Pacers head back on the road to match-up against Christopher Newport University. The game will take place on September 17th at 7 p.m.

For the latest news and updates from William Peace University Athletics, please visit: gopeacepacers.com , Facebook , or follow the Pacers on Instagram and Twitter at @gopeacepacers.