Women’s Volleyball Opens 2026 Season With Sweep at Hands of Meredith
Freshmen Brown, Yeaton standout as statistical leaders in season-opener
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
RALEIGH, N.C. – Opening their 2026 campaign, the Guilford College volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 ODAC) saw bright spots in their youth, but Meredith College (0-1, 0-0 USA South) was sharper in all phases at the Weatherspoon Athletic Center, picking up a 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-20) sweep, on Tuesday night.
The hosting Avenging Angels doubled-up the Quakers in a cluster of major statistics including kills, 39-17, aces, 8-3, and assists, 37-17, but foundationally, they just swung better, with a .276 rate against Guilford’s -.012 mark. A bright spot for GC was at the net defensively where they found success especially early, with three of their four blocks coming in the opening set.
The newest Quakers showed out in a significant way. Maiya Yeaton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) paced GC in kills with six on the night while also recording .105 hitting percentage, leading the team among those with at least five total swings. Also making her collegiate debut, Makenna Brown (Elizabethtown, Ky.) led Guilford in both assists, with seven, and digs, with five. Second-year Ashlin Paul (Hamstead, N.C.) helped on a trio of blocks, and Chrisbel Alcántara (San Juan, Puerto Rico) had five kills although she countered that with six attack errors.
Caitlyn Russell was very effective for the hosts, contributing a third of the Avenging Angels 39 kills herself, with 13 while hitting .321. Karaleigh Dodson and Elena Bostick added eight kills each as well. Scarlet Griffin and Kaiden Hawkins split setting duties with a game-high dozen helpers apiece while Megan Murray led all players with 12 digs for Meredith.
The hosts staked themselves to a 10-5 advantage before Guilford made their run in the opening set, claiming six of the ensuing seven rallies to get even at 11. A trio of volleys later, GC would unfortunately stall at a dozen, as the Avenging Angels ripped off eight unanswered and made it stand for a 25-15 opening set victory. While strong on the block, with three swats as a team, the Quaker attack experienced growing pains in the season’s initial set, swinging -.037 and while MC was not particularly efficient themselves in the opening frame, they did rack up 13 kills.
The Quakers could not find a rhythm in the second set as after playing near breakeven volleyball to a 7-6 score, the home team created distance with a lengthy 12-3 run, in the end taking the set by a 25-13 score. While GC did swing at a positive rate, it was no match for MC’s robust attack that finished the frame hitting .571 en route to another 13 kills, while adding a couple aces and a couple blocks.
The final set was easily the most competitive as the adversaries remained within four points through a 17-all tie. Meredith would find a run from there, though, scoring the next five points to complete a 6-0 stretch overall before polishing off the set at a 25-20 score. There was plenty of sloppy volleyball in the final set, with Avenging Angels accounting for over half of Guilford’s points with five attack errors and five service errors, plus some bad sets intermixed. GC was not exactly clean themselves, swinging -.040 while the hosts finished 13 kills to complete the sweep.
Things do not get any easier in Guilford’s second match of the season as a couple Gate City rivals head up to Danville, Va. for a neutral site clash with the Quakers battling the reigning USA South Champions, Greensboro College in each teams’ opener at the 33rd Annual Cougar Classic. First serve between the Quakers and Pride is set for 4:00 PM, but is subject to change based on earlier action.
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