FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  Playing in front of its raucous home crowd for the first time this season, Methodist volleyball earned its first win of the season against visiting Regent University Saturday night in non-conference action.

It seemed that playing in the Riddle Center was the recipe Methodist needed as the Monarchs completed a 3-0 sweep of the Royals. An efficient Methodist had a season-low 11 attacking errors, and registered 29 kills to just 13 for Regent.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final scores: Methodist def. Regent, 3-0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-12)
Records: Methodist 1-7, Regent 0-2
Location: Riddle Center; Fayetteville, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Fast start. The first set was 25-8 in favor of the Monarchs as Methodist built leads of 5-0 and 14-8 before reeling off 11 consecutive points, with Lili Henry serving, to win the set.
• Resilient midpoint. The second set featured six lead changes and six ties before the Monarchs pulled away for a 25-21 win. Regent used a 4-0 run to take a slight 8-7 lead and Methodist responded with a 5-0 run. Eventually, Regent managed to tie it at 17-17 before the Monarchs closed.
• Strong finish. The Methodist had a game-high 12 kills in the third set while holding Regent to only two kills.

STAT FACTS

• Megan Andrews and Kendall Craig had a game-high seven kills each. Andrews' 12 digs were also a team-high.
• Lili Henry had 17 assists and four service aces, both game-highs.
• Savannah Mullis added eight assists and three aces, both second most on the team.

UP NEXT
Wednesday at 7 p.m., the Monarchs welcome Salem College to Riddle Center in their USA South Athletic Conference opener.