The Methodist volleyball team, playing against four NCAA Division II opponents, opened the 2016 season at 1-3 over the weekend. The Monarchs opened play on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Virginia Union, followed by a 3-0 loss to Virginia State. On Sunday, MU began play with a 3-1 over Pfeiffer and closed out the day with a 3-2 loss to St. Augustine's.
 
Virginia Union 3, Methodist 1
25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22
 
Chyenne Pump and Brittany Ter Meer led the Monarchs with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, as MU rebounded from a slow start to stay with the Div. II Panthers. Cassidy Hayes added nine kills and a pair of service aces, while Maggie Harris had 35 assists for the Monarchs. Harris completed a double-double with 13 digs and Annabelle Ronelli chipped in 13 digs.
 
Play by play and stats for Virginia Union were not available.
 
Virginia State 3, Methodist 0
25-21, 27-25, 25-21
 
Pump led all players with 10 kills and added eight digs as the Trojans held off the Monarchs in the final match on Saturday. Harris had 23 assists and 12 digs in the match, and Ter Meer and Hayes added eight and seven kills, respectively. Ronellli added 13 digs and Hayes had a pair of service aces.
 
Methodist 3, Pfeiffer 1
25-16, 25-20, 24-26, 25-11
 
Sunday's action began with a 3-1 win for the Monarchs. After winning the first two sets, MU was unable to close out Pfeiffer in the third set. The Falcons held a commanding 20-14 edge in the set before MU stormed back to take a 24-23 lead, but the Monarchs were unable to clinch the win. In the fourth set, the Monarchs seized used a steady 14-5 run to turn what had been a 3-3 match into a 17-8 lead. From there, the Green and Gold limited Pfeiffer to just three points and scored seven of the match's last eight points en route to the win.
 
Pump continued to pace the MU offense, pouring in 13 kills, while Ter Meer had nine and Hayes added eight. Harris handed out 31 assists and Hayes chipped in four blocks. Ronelli totaled a team-best 30 digs and Pump had 16.
 
For the Falcons, Kayla Hyatt and Erin Errington each had 10 kills, and Hyatt also had 22 digs. Tiana Gildernew and Katie Wilson split the setting duties and combined for 29 assists.
 
St. Augustine's 3, Methodist 2
25-17, 17-25, 18-25, 25-23, 20-18
 
The Monarchs closed out the day by falling to St. Augustine's in a marathon match. The Monarchs took a 2-1 lead into the fourth set but were unable to seal the win before the Falcons managed to hold off MU in a length fifth and deciding set.
 
Pump had yet another double-double with 20 kills and 15 digs, while Hayes (17) and Ter Meer (12) also reached double digits in kills. Harris had 53 assists. Defensively, Ronelli had 24 digs to lead the Monarchs, and Kaitlyn Rush contributed 10. Jasmine Tapscott led the way with five blocks.
 
For the Falcons, Olivia Porter racked up 36 kills and hit .325 on 83 attempts. Meghan Mahon had 61 assists and Zoey Isom led all players with 27 digs.
 
Methodist is back on the court on Friday on the first day of the Lynchburg Invitational when it takes on Oglethorpe beginning at 3:00 pm.