ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.  The Monarchs' Spring 2021 volleyball season came to an end in Rocky Mount, N.C., Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against host North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Battling Bishops won the first match, 3-0, in USA South Athletic Conference action before winning the second match, 3-1, in non-conference play.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: N.C. Wesleyan def. Methodist, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-17); N.C. Wesleyan def. Methodist, 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20)
Records: Methodist 2-7 (2-5 USA South), N.C. Wesleyan 4-9 (3-4)
Location: Everett Gymnasium; Rocky Mount, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The second match was tied 1-1 after two sets. The Battling Bishops won the first set, 25-22, and Methodist won the second, 25-22. Using an 11-2 run, Methodist flipped an 8-3 deficit into a 14-10 advantage in the second game. After the Battling Bishops whittled the score to 17-15, the Monarchs recorded the next five points, including a kill and consecutive service aces, all from Megan Andrews for a 22-15 lead. A 7-1 N.C. Wesleyan run made it a 23-22 game before an Andrews kill gave set point to Methodist and Geneva Barriger hammered the game home with a kill for point No. 25.
• In the first set, N.C. Wesleyan rallied from a 18-12 deficit, tying the game 20-20 before the set win. Methodist had jumped out to a 7-3 lead before consecutive aces from Andrews had given the Monarchs a 17-12 edge.
• The Battling Bishops took the final two sets by identical scores of 25-20. The fourth set was tied 14-14 before the Battling Bishops embarked on a 10-3 run to achieve match point. A service error and kills from Andrews and Ellie Atkins pushed the score to 24-20 before N.C. Wesleyan took the game.
• In the conference contest, N.C. Wesleyan took the first two sets by scores of 25-23. The Battling Bishops used an 11-2 run to recover from an 8-2 deficit in Game 1. After trailing 19-14, the Monarchs tied the game at 20. Consecutive kills from Kendall Craig and Kaeli Ryan tied the game, and two N.C. Wesleyan attack errors gave Methodist a late 23-22 lead, but N.C. Wesleyan took the last three points to win the set point. 
• In the second set, a 6-0 Methodist run turned a 9-4 deficit into a 10-9 lead. The run featured consecutive kills from Andrews and two service aces from Janie Harmelink. A 9-4 run extended the Monarchs' lead further to 19-15. A Craig kill gave Methodist a 20-16 lead but N.C. Wesleyan grabbed the next four points and four of the last five points to claim the second game. Trailing 16-11, Craig closed the gap to 16-14, thanks to two kills by her and a Battling Bishops' attack error, but N.C. Wesleyan closed the game on a 9-3 run to get the sweep.

MATCH NOTES

• Ryan and Andrews led the team with 20 kills combined in the two matches. Craig had 14 kills in the two contests. After earning 27 assists in the first match, Hannah Hewett one-upped herself with 40 assists in the second match. 
• Maddie Barga led the team in digs in each match, with 16 in the first and 14 in the second. Barriger had 14 digs in the second match and Andrews had 13.
• The Monarchs' best offensive performance came in the second set of the first match. Methodist had 11 kills and just three errors for a percentage of .276. 
• For N.C. Wesleyan, Lauren Weaver led with 27 total kills, plus seven block assists and five solo blocks.
• Andrews' 17 digs on the day elevated her career mark to 1,043 digs, seventh all-time in program history.