WINSTON SALEM, NC — The Greensboro College volleyball team returned to the court on Thursday night as they traveled up interstate 40 to take on the Spirits of Salem College. The Pride entered the match winners of six straight matches, and was able to push the string to seven with a 3-1 victory.
With Salem leading 6-2 in the first set of play, the Pride was able to climb back into the set using four straight points to pull within 13-12. Once Greensboro pulled to within one point, they were able to fight back to take their first lead of the set at 18-17, but Salem pulled away for the 25-23 win and 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set of the match once again started with the Spirits pulling out to an early 7-2, but once again Greensboro was able to come back to pull the match even at 12-12 following a three point run. Greensboro College kept the game close until the Prides’ Breana Baker served four straight points to give Greensboro at 24-21 before they drew the match even at 1-1 by winning the set 26-24.
After winning the second set to tie the match at 1-1, the Pride jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the third set of play. However, the Spirits were able to continue to fight back taking the lead at 20-19. Greensboro College did not back down after falling behind as they used a 6-0 run to close out the set 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The final set of play was all Greensboro College. With the Pride leading 11-10, Greensboro College all but put the match away with an astonishing 12-0 run to take a 23-10 lead. During the run, Pride freshman Darrian Bolt had three service aces will Liz Widenhouse added five kills. Greensboro College was able to close out the set 25-12 and win the match 3-1.
“The girls showed me tonight that we can pull together and overcome,” Pride Head Volleyball Coach Kaci Pike said. “We are in control and starting to make smarter decisions in every situation.”
Greensboro College was led in the match by senior Liz Widehouse. Widenhouse led the team with 23 kills and 24 digs. Shayla Moss also added nine kills in the match, while Dallas Hasty added six kills and Megan Baranko added five. Darrian Blot passed for a match high 22 assists while Bari Tressler contributed 16 assists of her own.
With the win, the Pride extends their win streak to seven matches and moves their overall record to 11-4 on the season. The seven game streak for Greensboro College is the longest active winning streak since the Pride volleyball team opened the 2006 season with a perfect 11-0 mark. The Pride volleyball team will return to action this weekend as they continue USA South Conference play as they travel to take on Meredith College and Methodist University in Stanton, VA.