GREENVILLE, S.C.  Methodist volleyball capped off its season-opening weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Johnson University-Tennessee on Saturday afternoon in the third-place match of the Bob Jones (Univ.) Labor Day Tournament.

The Monarchs had defeated Columbia (S.C.) College, 3-0, in an elimination match that began Saturday's schedule. The victory propelled Methodist into the semifinal round at noon, when Lancaster Bible College was able to enact revenge with a 3-1 victory. Friday evening's final match had been a 3-2 Methodist victory over LBC.

Kendall Craig and Jeanana Fowler were both named to the all-tournament team.

JUST THE FACTS
Event: Bob Jones Labor Day Tournament
Site: Davis Field House; Greenville, S.C.
Saturday scores: Methodist def. Columbia, 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-22); Lancaster Bible def. Methodist, 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 25-22); Methodist def. Johnson, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-23)
Records: Methodist 3-2, Johnson 3-4, Lancaster Bible 2-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Methodist captured the opening game of the 3rd-place match against Johnson, then had to battle back in the second, finally pushing past the Royals with the set's final four points.
• Tied at 8-8 in the third, the Monarchs used a 5-0 spurt to build an advantage that they never surrendered in winning the set and match.
• Johnson racked up 40 kills in the match, to only 29 for Methodist, but the Royals also accumulated 27 attack errors (just 11 by the Monarchs) and were stung by 12 Methodist service aces, six coming from Ellie Atkins.
• The opening win Saturday was a dominant outing, though Columbia presented a harsher challenge in the third before succumbing to the Methodist sweep.
• This time the wide advantage in kills -- 44 for the Monarchs to only 17 for the Koalas -- favored the winning team. Leann Sessoms had a match-high nine kills for Methodist, while Craig, Fowler and Geneva Barriger were close behind with eight apiece.
• Barriger also chimed in offensively with six service aces, and her seven digs trailed only teammate Janie Harmelink's nine.
• The semifinal match against Lancaster Bible could have swung the Monarchs' way, as the teams were fairly even in successful attacks and almost dead even in defensive digs. The Chargers, however, rang up 18 service aces, Methodist had 8, to negate the closeness of most of the other statistical categories.
• Sessoms had a strong outing at the net with 10 kills in the loss, as did Fowler who added 9.

MORE TO IT

• Craig paced the Monarchs on the attack over the two-day tournament, pounding out 38 kills, just ahead of Fowler's 34, Sessoms' 33 and Barriger's 30. Fowler's .282 attack percentage was tops for the Monarch, though.
• The primary setter all weekend was Hannah Hewett, who finished with 86 assists.
• Methodist accumulated 50 service aces over the five matches, led by a cool dozen from Barriger.
• Defensive specialist Harmelink came up with a team-best 76 digs, while Barriger (54) also registered better than a 10 digs-per-match pace.
• Craig's seven solo blocks was the high mark for the Monarchs, while Fowler notched four sol and six block assists.

UP NEXT
Methodist will travel to Salem, Virginia, for the next outing, participating in the Sept. 10-11 Maroon Classic hosted by Roanoke College.