Score: Greensboro 3, Meredith 1 (25-15, 24-26,25-23, 25-20)
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Meredith duo of
Reagan Kresho (14) and
Caitlyn Russell (12) each reached double-digit kills, but it was Greensboro's Payton Shiflet that proved to be the deciding factor with her 28 kills as The Pride earned a 25-15, 24-26,25-23, 25-20 victory over Meredith when the two clashed in USA South Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Weatherspoon Gym.
Kresho led all Meredith hitters with her 14 kills (.229 attack percentage), while Russell complemented her teammate with 12 kills.
Delaney Lowery added eight kills for the Meredith offense, which tallied 52 kills behind
Lillie Davis' 39 assists. Russell led the way for the Avenging Angels' defensive attack with a team-high 24 digs, while
Megan Murray added 14 and Davis closed with 10.
Shiftlet, who closed with 63 attempts, posted a .413 attack percentage on the day. Taylor Cotie added 12 kills (.346 attack percentage) as Greensboro tallied 62 kills as a unit. Morgan Mayfield led the way for the defense with 27 digs, while Jaylyn Templeton (15) and Shiflet (14) also reached double figures.
FIRST SET: The Pride offense was clicking on all cylinders in the opening frame, posting a .314 attack percentage highlighted by 17 kills. Greensboro distanced itself 9-5 in the early going on a service ace from Grace Klingensmith, but Russell forced three errors by The Pride offense to help Meredith slice that margin to 11-10. Shiflet got The Pride back on track with a kill as the lead moved to 17-13. Russell provided one kill down the stretch, but it was five strikes by Shiflet that proved to be the difference in the 10-point victory.
SECOND SET: Meredith's offense found its stride in the second set, coming through with 19 kills. The back-and-forth battle resulted in nine ties and six lead changes between the two, including a 15-all deadlock. Meredith took advantage of a series of unforced errors, along with slams by
Daven Brabble and Russell, moving in front 19-17. However, Greensboro answered and forced the first of five ties that eventually lead to a 24-all score.
Maddie Aveline delivered a service ace and
Delaney Lowery added a kill to even the match at 1-1.
THIRD SET: The back-and-forth exchange continued into the third set, which witnessed 10 ties, as the two teams battled for the edge. With Greensboro leading 19-14 late, the Avenging Angels fought back behind two kills from Kresho to score four unanswered. It was the pair of Lowery and Russell who followed with back-to-back kills, evening the game at 21-21. Russell and
Sara Dees added one kill each down the stretch, but it was Karla del Castillo and Peyton Shiflet that made the difference in the 25-23 triumph.
FOURTH SET: Greensboro equaled its first set kill output (17) in the fourth and committed just three miscues, securing the fourth set and the victory. The Avenging Angels stormed out to a 5-1 lead, following two kills from Kresho, but a 13-3 run by Greensboro, capped off by a Templeton kill, resulted in a 14-8 advantage. Meredith managed to trim the deficit to three, 15-12, on a Russell kill. However, Greensboro became the first to reach 20 with a series of kills off the hand of Shiflet. The combination of Brabble and
Kinley Copeland kept Meredith within striking distance, with two kills apiece, before a series of slams by Templeton and Kelci Brooks secured the win.
