DANVILLE, Va.  Methodist rolled past North Carolina Wesleyan in the final two sets of Saturday's USA South tri-match at Averett University, fending off the Battling Bishops for a 3-1 victory led by 14 kills apiece by Megan Andrews and Brittany Ter Meer.

Host Averett halted the Monarchs' momentum in the final match of the day, however, earning a 3-0 victory over three tightly contested games.

JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Averett def. N.C. Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-7, 25-8, 25-10); Methodist def. N.C. Wesleyan, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 25-12); Averett def. Methodist, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21)
Records: Methodist 11-7 overall (5-5 USA South); Averett 10-10 (6-4), N.C. Wesleyan 8-7 (3-8)
Location: Grant Center; Danville, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Methodist's opening set against N.C. Wesleyan saw four lead changes and 11 tie scores, and went overtime with the Monarch's closing out the set win on a service ace from Andrews.
• The Bishops broke out to an 8-1 lead at the opening of the second game, only to have Methodist do the battling and eventually pull back even at 11 on a block from Jasmine Tapscott and Samantha Spooner.
• It was the Monarchs that edged in front after the big block, nearing the victory on a Ter Meer kill that made the score 21-17. Behind the serving of Mary Catherine Davis, though, NCW played true to its nickname and rallied from behind with eight consecutive points that earned the set win and squared the match.
• Methodist never trailed over the last two sets, breaking in front with Andrews kills in each game.
• The Bishops responded to tie the score at 3-3 in the third game before Methodist registered seven of the next eight points. The lead in that third game grew to as many as seven before the Monarchs settled for a six-point win, courtesy of Alyssa Coffey's game-closing service ace.
• The final game against NCW was all Methodist, beginning with Andrews' kill. Early action saw the Bishops trying to hang close, but four-point runs from the Monarchs when leading at 9-6 and at 17-10 iced the set and match victory.
• Averett, fresh after sitting out the middle contest of the tri-match, had a battle on its hands in the opening set, fighting off the momentum Methodist had built in its match against the Bishops.
• The Monarch and Cougars played through three lead changes and 11 ties before Averett eked out the game win.
• Methodist played right with the Cougars in both the second and third sets, but were simply unable to get over the hump, so to speak. The cumulative difference in the two sets was just nine points, but the Monarchs led only once, in the second set, and worked up to deadlocked scores twice, also in the second.

STATBOX FAX

• Against N.C. Wesleyan, Lili Henry put up career-best numbers in set assists with 48. This is the sixth time she has set a new personal best during this season.
• Andrews' 14 kills in the win over NCW was a career high, surpassing the 13 she pounded down twice during her freshman season.
• With 14 kills in the NCW match, Ter Meer reached double digits for the fifth straight match and hit double figures for the 13th time.
• Against the Battling Bishops, four Methodist defenders reached double figures in digs -- Coffey with 18, Andrew and Riley Adair with 15, and Maddie Barga with 10.
• Ter Meer led the Methodist attack against Averett with eight kills, but the Cougars accumulated an attack edge of 39-26 in kills during its victory.
• Averett put away seven service aces to help its cause in holding off the Methodist attack.

UP NEXT

• Methodist entertains Pfeiffer University Wednesday night at the Riddle Center in a conference match.
• Averett hosts Mary Baldwin in a Tuesday league match, and N.C. Wesleyan travel to Meredith College for a USA South match on Wednesday.