RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Meredith College volleyball squad captured a pair of hard fought wins Friday over the visiting Methodist Monarchs, 3-1 (22-25, 32-30, 25-15, 25-20) and 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 21-25, 15-8). Coaches Fiona Barkley and Elizabeth Ledford celebrated their four seniors -- Ally Copenhaver, Kristen Leavel, Abby Lee, Lauren Phillips -- prior to the start of play.

Game 1
Game one kicked off the day in favor of the Monarchs, but the Avenging Angels battled at the net with Lauren Bissette recording seven blocks in the match. With the assist of four double-digit back row performances led by Phillips with 24, Meredith found a way to fend off a scrappy Methodist squad.

Avery Bowman split her time between the net and a shared setter role with Bailey Lucas, notching a share of the game-high 14 kills. With 18 assists and a dozen digs, Bowman registered her second triple-triple this season. Whitney Bolton and Ally Copenhaver tallied 13 and 11 kills, respectively, and Bissette added six. Copenhaver tallied 11 digs with three service aces.

Lucas led the Angels with 24 assists, adding eight digs, and Hannah Jo Jablonski recorded a new career-high 10 digs.

Game 2
MU managed to win game one in the second match as well, but MCVB squeeked by in games two and three for a 2-1 match advantage. The Monarchs forced a deciding set by interrupting a 3-0 MCVB rally with back-to-back kills. Meredith turned up the heat in the final frame with an 8-0 opening and finished off MU with a blast from Hailey Long.

Copenhaver led all with 21 kills, while Long and Bowman tallied 11 apiece. Abby Lee grabbed 12 digs, and Phillips finished with a game-high 28. Jablonski notched 11 to better her career-best by one. Lucas and Bowman combined for 52 of Meredith's 57 assists, and the Avenging Angels boasted another double-digit block performance as a team. Kristen Leavel finished with six kills, two digs, and a pair of blocks.

The Angels travel next weekend to Mary Baldwin for their final conference pairing of the regular season. Meredith remains in the hunt for a second-seed and tournament hosting privileges, but the final round of USA South action will have to play out first.