GREENVILLE, S.C.  It really will be just a matter of time.

Though Methodist dropped a pair of non-conference volleyball matches Friday evening at Bob Jones University -- 3-0 to Erskine (S.C.) College, and 3-0 to the host Bruins -- to push its early-season record to 0-6, the 'fight' in the Monarchs will soon produce a different result.

JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Erskine def. Methodist, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20); Bob Jones def. Methodist, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-15)
Records: Methodist 0-6, Erskine 2-5, Bob Jones 10-1
Location: Davis Field House, Bob Jones University; Greenville, S.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• All night long it seemed the Monarchs were one scoring run away from taking a set.
• They led early in the opening game against Erskine, fell behind by five nearing the midway point of the set, then rallied back into the lead at 22-21 and then again at 23-22. The Fleet scored the final three points, however, to steal the set.
• Erskine handled the Monarchs during second-set action, but Methodist rolled out to a 7-1 lead at the opening of the third. The Fleet finally took their first lead of the set at 16-15 and held off all Monarch challenges for the set, and match, victory.
•  Against Bob Jones -- the National Christian College Athletic Association's No. 1-ranked Division II team -- it was more of the same.
• Methodist took a lead in the first set at 5-4 and maintained an advantage over the Bruins until the home team inched in front at 12-11. No more than two points separated the teams until Bob Jones finally broke free with four unanswered points at the 18-16 mark of the set.
• Only lacking a lead in the second set, Methodist followed the same script, not allowing the Bruins to gain breathing room until they ran off the final six points to escape from a perilously close 19-16 lead.
• The Monarchs led 3-0 in the third set, and later sat tied with the Bruins at 13-13, but once again the lack of a Methodist run twisted into a three-point surge from Bob Jones, who ran off with the set and match win over a spent Methodist squad.

WHAT THE SCORE DOESN'T SHOW

• 0-5 teams are not usually ones that earn several leads against a nationally-ranked opponent -- on its home court, in front of its home fans, and riding a seven-match win streak -- but Methodist is clearly not your typical now-0-6 team.
• The Monarchs also lost a full week of practice recently, due to Hurricane Dorian; valuable court time for a squad whose freshmen (8) nearly outnumber the returners (11). Yet Methodist is in every set of every match.
• It is only a matter of time.

THE NUMBERS ON THE NIGHT

• Sophomore Riley Adair was a demon from behind the service line, chalking up six service aces in the Erskine match and adding three more against Bob Jones.
• Junior Megan Andrews continues to lead the Methodist attack, pretty much equaling her season average of kills per set with 14 in six sets on Friday.
• Freshman Geneva Barriger saw her most extensive action of the season in the Bob Jones match, and came away with a team-best seven kills in the defeat.

UP NEXT
Methodist heads to Salem, Virginia, for its next match, a non-conference contest on September 17 against host Roanoke College.