RALEIGH, N.C. – William Peace University volleyball opened their home season at the Raleigh Invitational on Friday with two hard-fought match ups, falling in five sets to Gordon College before dropping a four-set contest to Virginia Wesleyan University.

In the opener, the Pacers came out strong with back-to-back set wins (25–18, 25–19) to take a 2–0 lead over Gordon. The Fighting Scots rallied, however, forcing a decisive fifth set and ultimately edging out Peace 3–2 (18–25, 19–25, 25–16, 34–32, 15–13). Aubrey Chesson led the Pacers with 18 kills, while Caitlin Bailey tallied 13 kills and Aaliyah Anderson added 11. Setter Maegan Brylski orchestrated the offense with 35 assists and contributed 13 digs, as libero Gracie Payne anchored the defense with a team-high 24 digs.

The last match up featured another competitive one, with the Pacers taking the second set to even the match before Virginia Wesleyan closed things out 3–1 (25–19, 16–25, 25–18, 25–23). Bailey again powered the offense with 11 kills on a .417 hitting percentage, while Anderson contributed nine kills and Chesson added 10. Brylski compiled 32 assists and posted four aces, while Payne collected 15 digs in the back row.

With the two losses, Peace moves to 3–3 on the season. The Pacers continue play tomorrow during day two of the Raleigh Invitational with match ups against Oglethorpe Unviersity at 10 AM and Averett University at 2 PM in the Hermann Athletic Center.