College Volleyball Final – Guilford 3, Ferrum 2

FERRUM, Va. – Christian Ritter had 16 kills and Tina Eucker set up 46 assists in Guilford College’s 3-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) volleyball win at Ferrum College Friday night. Scores of the match were: 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-8.

The road win upped Guilford’s record to 9-7 (3-3 ODAC) and dropped the Panthers to 7-10 (0-6 ODAC).

The tightly contested match featured 20 ties and 13 lead changes. There were five ties in the decisive fifth set. Guilford went ahead for good, 7-6, on the ninth and final Ferrum service error. Ritter followed with a kill, after which a Panthers’ ball-handling miscue forced the hosts to call timeout.

A Mikayla Holland kill got service back for Ferrum and teammate Ashlynn Willoughby followed with a putaway to get the Panthers back to within 9-8. They drew no closer as Guilford reeled off the next six points, including a Eucker service ace to clinch the win.

Eucker became the second Quaker to reach the 2,000 career assists plateau in the match. She joins career leader Taylor Whitley ’13 as the only two Guilford volleyball student-athletes to reach the mark. Eucker also picked up 11 digs in the match. Khaira Bolden put down 11 kills on .316 hitting and Morgan Tompkins added nine putaways for Guilford. Amanda Rabey hit .353 with eight kills and two blocks. Ritter’s 17 digs led the team, followed by Cydney Scott’s 13 pickups.

Ferrum’s Kaelyn Daniel led all contestants with 20 kills. She also picked up 10 digs and served up two aces. Cheyenne Strickland added 12 kills, 27 assists, and two blocks for the hosts, which outhit Guilford, .217-.182. Willoughby hit .467 with eight kills.

Coach Emily Gann’s Quakers host North Carolina Wesleyan College Sunday (10/7) in a match rescheduled from September 15 by concerns caused by Hurricane Florence. First serve in the Ragan-Brown Field House is 1:00 p.m.