DANVILLE, Va. - The Meredith College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 17-25) match to USA South foe Averett in Wednesday's conference action. Karlie Long led Meredith with 22 kills, and Hannah Blaylock dished out 42 assists on the night.

The host Cougars opened up with a 10-6 lead, but the Angels would battle back on a pair of Long kills and a service ace from Jasmine Aguinaldo.

The momentum would shift form end-to-end until winners from Elizabeth Pattison and Emily Hendricks led Meredith to four consecutive points for a 17-16 lead. The Avenging Angels held on to the one point lead through 22-21, when Averette's Nicole Barringer edge the Cougars back in front.

A missed AU serve tied the score once more at 23s. But the leading Cougar attacker Hannah Shields landed a kill, and her team followed with a winner from the service line to finish off the set in the lead.

Meredith remained close to Averett throughout the second set as well. A series of runs left either team in the lead by as many as two points with the score reset at 13.

A 6-2 Cougar run spread the gap, and Meredith would not recover through the rest of the frame.

Down two sets, Meredith continued the fight in the third stanza and scored 10 of the final 13 points to claim set three 25-21.

The advantage was shortlived as Averett opened the fourth frame with eight consecutive points to take an 8-2 lead and force an early Meredith timeout.

The break in action helped as the Avenging Angels Blaylock and Anna Huff stuffed the next AU attempt and led to three more MCVB points.

But Shields unleashed a pair of kills as the Cougars once again pulled away to a 15-7 advantage. Pattison and Long landed kill apiece and Aguinaldo and Hendricks paired up for a stuff to keep the Angels in the mix. But Meredith would get no closer the rest of the way.

Pattison tallied nine kills and Hendricks recorded five. Aguinaldo landed four kills and was one of three Angels with a match-high five blocks. Huff and Pattison joined Aguinaldo in blocks, and Emery McGee led the Angels with a dozen digs.

Meredith heads to Fayetteville Saturday for a conference tri-match with Piedmont and Methodist. The Avenging Angels play at 2 and 4 p.m. at the Monarch's Riddle Center.