College Volleyball Final – Guilford 3, North Carolina Wesleyan 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior setter Tina Eucker totaled 38 assists, six kills, two service aces, and eight digs in Guilford College’s 3-0 volleyball victory over visiting North Carolina Wesleyan College Sunday afternoon. The Quakers’ junior facilitated the offense, made heads-up defensive plays and served aggressively to help Guilford notch the 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 win.

The first set saw seven of the match’s 10 ties. The Quakers (10-7) built a 15-11 lead, but the Battling Bishops (8-13) rallied to knot the score at 15-15 after a Guilford hitting error. Each time Guilford pulled ahead, North Carolina Wesleyan answered and the teams were knotted at 21-21. With Eucker on the serving line, Guilford reeled off three straight points before closing the set on an Amanda Rabey (Kernersville, N.C./Glenn) kill. Eucker had 17 assists in the set, seven to Christian Ritter (Asheboro, N.C./Eastern Randolph), who collected a match-best 13 kills.

With Eucker serving again, Guilford scored seven straight points to start the second set. Eucker had an ace and Jasmine Gaines (Asheboro, N.C./Asheboro) put down two kills in the opening run. The Bishops chipped away the lead and drew within three points on three occasions, finally at 24-21. Ritter’s putdown off a Eucker assist clinched the set and gave Guilford momentum entering the third. Gaines sparked the offense in the second set with four kills on .571 hitting.

North Carolina Wesleyan refused to fold, yet could not score many consecutive points to enjoy a lead. A Kelly Ammons service ace capped a 4-0 spurt that tied the third-set score at 14-14, but Khaira Bolden’s kill stopped the run and started a 6-2 Guilford burst that opened a 20-16 margin. The Bishops battled back with five straight points for their lone lead of the set, 21-20, before Rabey earned a kill off a North Carolina Wesleyan blocking error. The point tied the match and returned serve to Guilford, where Eucker stepped to the line and closed out the match by serving four straight points.

The Quakers got 10 kills apiece from Bolden and Morgan Tompkins, plus six from Gaines. McKinley Durham led the way with 13 digs and Ritter added 10. Bolden had a hand in four blocks and Tompkins got in on three rejections.

Hannah Thresher led a balanced Batting Bishops’ attack with six kills and three blocks. Haley Rising, Callie Cline, and Autumn Spence each contributed four kills. Ammons set up 11 assists and Haileigh Riesenbeck added eight. Devin Lassiter made a game-best 15 digs from her libero spot.

Coach Emily Gann’s Quakers host Old Dominion Athletic Conference-rival Randolph College Wednesday (10/10) at 7:00 p.m.