RALEIGH, N.C.  Methodist came back from the brink once in Tuesday's opening round of the USA Athletic Conference volleyball tournament, staving off elimination with a third-set win, but William Peace University rallied back in the fourth game to finish off a 3-1 victory that advanced the Pacers into the next round and ended the Monarchs' season.

THE ESSENTIALS
Event: USA South volleyball tournament, First round
Final score: William Peace def. Methodist, 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 25-17)
Records: Methodist 11-23, William Peace 24-7
Location: Weatherspoon Athletic Center, Meredith College; Raleigh, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Monarchs surrendered the opening two games but reversed the momentum in the third, taking a lead at 5-4 on a service ace from Maggie Barga and then never trailing again in a five-point win.
• Methodist kept that momentum in the early going of the fourth set, stretching out to a 9-4 lead behind a four-point run that was keyed by a pair of service aces from Riley Adair.
• The Pacers put together their own rally, though, turning a 13-10 deficit into a 15-13 lead with a 5-0 run.
• Facing the end of its season with a loss, Methodist tugged up the boot straps and wrested back the lead at 17-16 on a kill from Alyssa Wrench.
• That would be the last gasp, however, as William Peace reeled off nine unanswered points to take the set and clinch the match victory.

MATCH NOTES

• The Monarchs went into the elimination match facing a challenge as William Peace had won the previous eight matches between the two teams.
• The bounce-back in the third set was keyed by a defensive effort as Methodist came up with 21 digs, not quite double what its combined total was (23) over the first two sets.
• The Monarch attack also found greater success, feeding off the digs, posting their best attack percentage (.146) and highest number of kills (11) in any of the other sets.
• Jamie Jones -- who led Methodist's attack with eight kills in her final collegiate match -- paced the Monarchs in that third set with three of the team's 11 kills.
• Barga, the defensive specialist on the floor, contributed to the offense with three service aces.
• Megan Andrews, who with seven kills trailed only Jones on the attack, came up with eight digs in that third set. She finished the match with a team-best 15.
• Adair's four service aces were the match high but Barga claims the season high for Methodist with a total of 54, three more than Adair's 51.
• William Peace was limited to just a .095 hitting percentage in the third set, but overall the Pacers forged a .201 to .060 advantage over the Monarchs for the match.
• Defense at the net also leaned the Pacers' way as they picked up points with a 7.0-2.0 blocking advantage.
• William Peace advanced into the second round of the tournament with the victory, facing off against host Meredith following the match against Methodist.