SALEM, Va.  Methodist University volleyball performed well on the first day of the Maroon Classic against a pair of non-conference foes on Friday afternoon. With both matches being played on a neutral court, the Monarchs collected two victories after sweeping both Ferrum College and Hollins University 3-0 inside the Cregger Center.

JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Methodist def. Ferrum, 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-18); Methodist def. Hollins, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-14)
Records: Methodist 3-2, Ferrum 2-1, Hollins 0-7
Event: Maroon Classic
Host: Roanoke College
Location: Cregger Center; Salem, Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Methodist started out strong in its opening contest versus Ferrum, as the Monarchs scored seven of the first eight points. A couple of 6-1 runs by Methodist pushed the lead to a 19-8 margin before closing out the first set on a 4-0 run.
• Set two saw the Monarchs go up 4-2 but then the Panthers stringed together a few points to force a back-and-forth battle. A kill from Jeanana Fowler midway through sparked a much needed five-point swing for Methodist to make it 14-10. From that point on the two squads kept exchanging points until the Monarchs were able to claim their second consecutive set.
• The third set started off similar to how the first set began with Methodist jumping out to an early advantage, 12-4. Ferrum would then record five of the next six points to get itself within striking distance. The Monarchs though registered the next four points to solidify their lead and later finished off the sweep.
• In the first set against Hollins, Methodist scored the first three points quickly but that did not stop Hollins from keeping the score close. The score stayed within three points until the Monarchs were able to go on a 4-0 run to make it a five-point difference, 15-10. That was enough of a buffer for Methodist as the team maintained that edge before capping off the set with another 4-0 run.
• The start of the second set played out much like the first with Hollins only down by one, 6-5, after the first 11 points. That changed in a blink of an eye for the Monarchs as they tallied 11 of the next 12 points. Later Methodist finished off the set by scoring five of the last six points.
• For the third time in a row Hollins did well enough early to give itself hope as the team was tied 7-7 with the Monarchs. The next five points were then scored by Methodist and later an additional 4-0 run gave them a seven-point lead, 17-10. Hollins could only manage to record four more points before the Monarchs took the win.

MORE TO IT

• Starting off with some good serves definitely helps a team and that was evident with Methodist. In their two games, the Monarchs had eight and nine service aces.
• The hitting percentage difference in each match was why Methodist was able to pull out these sweeps. The Panthers hit percentage was .054% while Hollins had a worst percentage in -.045, the Monarchs respective had .204 & .267.
• With her 15 kill performance in the Hollins game, Fowler finished with 20 total kills to lead the team. Not far behind with 17 each were Jamie Holton and Savannah Hovander, who had a season-high 10 kills against Ferrum.

UP NEXT
Day two of the Maroon Classic takes place on Saturday with Methodist being in the first match against Randolph College at 10 AM. Right after that the Monarchs plays the host institution Roanoke, scheduled for 12 PM.