College Volleyball Finals – Guilford Wraps Up Day One at Averett Classic

DANVILLE, Va. – Guilford’s volleyball team opened the season with a pair of setbacks Saturday at the Averett University Cougar Classic. The Quakers dropped a hard-fought 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21 to Methodist University in their first match and fell to the host Cougars, 25-22, 25-9, 25-21, in their second contest.

Malikah French paced the Quakers (0-2) in the opener with 13 kills on .296 hitting with three service aces and five blocks. Brittany Freeman added nine kills, three aces and seven digs. Kelsey Ruehling chipped in with eight kills and 10 digs and Taylor Whitley had a match-best 37 kills. Meredith Foscue (Asheboro, N.C./Asheboro) had a team-best 17 digs.

Risa Smith’s triple-double topped the Monarchs (1-0) as she collected 19 kills on .421 hitting, 17 assists and 10 digs.

Allison Sparks put away a match-high 10 kills and added three aces and eight digs for Averett (2-0) in the day’s second match for both teams. Lindsay Boles served up four of the Cougars’ 10 aces and Nicole Barringer had 33 assists.

Freeman’s seven kills led the Quakers. Whitley finished with 21 assists and nine digs, both team highs. French contributed six kills in nine attempts (.667) and three block assists.

Coach Emily Gann’s club concludes play in the Classic Sunday with matches against Hollins University and Greensboro College.