STAUNTON, Va. -- The Methodist volleyball team upped its current win streak to a season-high five matches with wins over Mary Baldwin (3-2) and Greensboro (3-0) on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Monarchs, who are now 9-7 on the season and 5-1 in conference play, survived a scare against the winless Fighting Squirrels (0-16, 0-6). MU won the first set handily, 25-16, before falling into a 2-1 hole with 25-21 and 25-22 losses in sets two and three. However, the Monarchs rallied for a 25-19 win in set number four and then posted a 15-9 win in the fifth and decisive set.
 
Ryann Appleby led the Monarchs in the opening match with 11 kills and four blocks. Grace Crawford matched Appleby's 11 kills and Taylar Stafford chipped in 10. Cassidy Hayes added nine kills. Maggie Harris dished out 11 assists.
 
Karly Klimas paced MU's defensive effort with 30 digs, and Reagan Holloway had 14. Stafford and Jordyn Litchfield totaled 12 and 11 digs, respectively, and Hayes had three service aces.
 
For MBC, Katelyn Rice had 16 kills, 19 digs and three service aces. Kennedy Quick added eight kills. Sara Valdivieso finished with 29 assists, and Xenna Belfield led the Fighting Squirrels with 33 digs.
 
In the win over Greensboro, Methodist won 25-14, 25-16, 25-14.
 
Crawford led the team with 11 kills and hit .500 for the match. Appleby had eight kills with a .600 hitting percentage. Harris once again directed the offense, piling up 31 assists, and she added a pair of service aces.
 
Defensively, Klimas had 14 digs, Stafford 13, and Harris added 11. Appleby finished with three total blocks, including a pair of solo efforts.
 
For the Pride, Liz Widenhouse had 10 kills and 15 digs, while Megan Baranko had seven kills and 10 digs. Bari Tressler posted 11 assists.
 
The Monarchs' next match is set for Tuesday at 7:00 pm when they travel to N.C. Wesleyan.