WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- William Peace University volleyball went 2-0 in the Salem College Tri-Match. The Pacers swept Salem College 3-0 before an impressive comeback against Averett College as they won three sets in a row to defeat the Cougars 3-2. The Pacers also set a new block assist record with 30, a new total block record with 17, and Landis Limon tied the block record with 12 in the match against the Cougars.

THE BASICS

• Final score: 
  • Game One: William Peace 3, Salem 0
  • Game Two: William Peace 3, Averett 2
• Records: William Peace (17-12, 11-2), Salem (0-20, 0-14), Averett (19-7, 9-5)
• Location: Winston-Salem, NC

HOW IT HAPPENED

GAME ONE - SALEM COLLEGE
Set One (25-11)
The Pacers would dominate in the first set, taking a 4-0 lead with kills by Landis Limon and Shelby Cooper. A 3-point run with kills by Limon and Kelsey Bierbauer would bring the score to 8-2. The Pacers would then go on an impressive 8-point run with kills from Hannah Collier and Landis Limon and a service ace from Emerson Scollo to lead 17-6. A final 5-point run with kills by Kelsey Bierbauer and a few service aces from Logan Moore would secure the set 25-11 for the Pacers.

Set Two (25-22)
The Spirits would get off to a strong start in set two to lead 4-2 but a kill from Mackenzie Russell and a service ace from Hannah Ward would tie it 4-4. Kills from Keslee Hylton and Nancy Gamewell would put the Pacers ahead 8-7, while a service ace from Vivian Camplin and a kill from Mackenzie Russell would bring the score to 11-8. Kills by Keslee Hylton and Ciara O'Conney would put the Pacers ahead 18-15, but the Spirits would tie it up 18-18 before a kill from Alyssa Poteat, a block from Poteat and Nancy Gamewell, and a service ace from Logan Moore would give the Pacers a 21-18 lead. Poteat, Madeline SImpson, and Vivian Camplin would collect the final three points for the Pacers to win 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three (25-17)
In the final set, kills by Shelby Cooper and a service ace from Nancy Gamewell would put the Pacers up 5-4. An impressive 8-point run with kills from Hannah Collier, Nancy Gamewell, and Mackenzie Russell, and service aces from Logan Moore, would give the Pacers a 16-7 lead. Kills from Jordan Juanes and Georgia Grace Anderson would bring the score to 22-13, with Anderson and Nancy Gamewell putting up the final kills to win the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

GAME TWO -  AVERETT UNIVERSITY
Set One (24-26)
In set one, the Cougars would get off to a strong start to lead 3-0. A 4-point run by the Pacers would put them ahead 7-6, but the Cougars would respond with two runs to lead 13-8. Kills from Shelby Cooper and a block from Georgia Grace Anderson would put the Pacers up 16-15 as they battled back, but a late run by the Cougars would regain them a 21-19 lead. Landis Limon and Georgia Grace Anderson would put up kills to regain a 24-23 Pacer lead, but the Cougars would notch the final three points to win 26-24.

Set Two (22-25)
In set two, the Pacers would go on an early 4-point run to lead 6-5. A service ace from Shelby Cooper would put them ahead 9-7, with a kill by Landis Limon bringing the score to 13-11. The Cougars would go on a 5-point run to lead 17-14, with Averett's Lauren Montren and Sarah Shropshire combining to put them up 23-20. They would take the last two points of the game to win 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead over the Pacers.

Set Three (25-20)
The Pacers would battle hard in the third set to lead 4-1 early with kills by Shelby Cooper and blocks from Cooper and Landis Limon. A 4-point run by the Pacers with kills from Mackenzie Russell and Shelby Cooper would bring the score to 10-5, but the Cougars would battle back to tie it 10-10. Kills by Shelby Cooper and Georgia Grace Anderson would bring the score to 18-16, with a three point run putting them ahead 22-17. Blocks from Hannah Collier and Landis Limon and a kill from Collier would win the set 25-20 for WPU as they trailed 2-1.

Set Four (25-21)
Set four would be tied 4-4 early before a 3-point run from the Pacers would give them a 7-6 lead. Two kills by Hannah Collier would put them up 11-8, with a kill by Shelby Cooper bringing the score to 16-12. Cooper would increase the Pacer lead to 21-17. Mackenzie Russell would put up the final kill to win the set 25-21 and tie the match 2-2 as the Pacers showed great mental toughness.

Set Five (15-13)
In the final set, the Pacers would jump out to a 5-1 lead with blocks from Shelby Cooper and Landis Limon. A kill by Hannah Collier would put them up 10-7, but the Cougars would tie the set 11-11. However, the Pacers would continue to battle back, with final blocks from Shelby Cooper and Landis Limon and a final kill by Cooper closing the set 15-13 and completing their comeback to win the game 3-2.

PACER TOP PERFORMERS

• Hannah Collier led the Pacers in game one with 7 kills and 14 in game two.
• Mackenzie Russell tallied 35 assists in game one and 33 in game two.
• Logan Moore notched 13 digs in game one and 25 in game two.
• Landis Limon notched 12 blocks in game two to tie a program record.

FOR THE FOES

• Brooklyn Snow led the Spirits with 11 kills in game one.
• Sarah Shropshire led the Cougars with 16 kills in game two.

STATS OF THE GAME

• The Pacers tallied 13 aces and 2 blocks in game one.
• The Pacers notched 30 block assists and 17 total blocks in game two, both setting new program records.

NEXT GAME
The Pacers will host Meredith College on Tuesday, October 26th at 7PM.

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