DANVILLE, Va. - Vanessa Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.), Natalie Moore (Talbott, Tenn.), and Chrisbel Alcantara (San Juan, P.R.) each recorded eight kills in tonight's match, as the Guilford College volleyball team fell to their first conference opponent of the season, Averett University, 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 21-25) at the E. Stuart James Grant Center on Wednesday night.
 
The Quakers now have a record of 3-7 while Averett leaves tonight with a 4-7 record.
 
Guilford stat leaders for tonight's contest were Johnson who recorded eight kills, Moore with eight kills paired with seven digs, and Maddi Page (Jonesboro, Ga.) who walked away with team-high 28 assists and eight digs.
 
Stars for Averett were Allie Wilkerson and Emily McIntosh, who tied for game-high ten kills, Dayton Moore with team-high 18 assists alongside 11 digs, and Emma Nash who finished tonight's match with eight kills and 13 digs.
 
In the first set, Averett took the lead at 6-2, aided by kills from Hope Parrish, Wilkerson, and McIntosh, along with a service ace, a service error, and an attacking error. A kill from Alcantara ignited some confidence in the Quakers, allowing them to gradually take the lead. Guilford then went on a 7-2 run, with consecutive kills from Moore pushing the score to 14-13 in their favor. After some back and forth, Marie Hall (High Point, N.C.) added to the mix with a kill, but it was no match against McIntosh and Wilkerson's kills toward the end of the set. Wilkerson finished the set with six kills, claiming a 25-22 victory for the Cougars.
 
Averett and Guilford fought fire with fire at the start of set two, making it 8-8. Kills from Kaci Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) made this possible in addition to Vanessa Johnson and Alcantara's contributions. The Cougars responded with a 5-1 run, fueled by kills from Parrish and McIntosh, before the Quakers went on 3-0 and 4-0 runs later in the set. Moore recorded three of her five kills in this set, while Vanessa Johnson notched five of her eight kills in the second set. However, key kills from Sydney Mounce and Nash secured Averett's 25-23 victory.
 
Guilford started the final set strong, jumping to a 5-1 lead with kills from Hall and Alcantara, supported by a service ace and a couple of attacking errors. The momentum wavered between the two teams for a while before AU scored seven uninterrupted points, extending the lead to 20-16. Service and attacking errors from GC were the cause of this push alongside kills from McIntosh. Vanessa Johnson finished the night with her season-best 12 points Kills from Zoe Whisnant (Greensboro, N.C.) and Page briefly slowed the Cougars, but Averett ultimately claimed the set 25-21, completing the sweep for the night.
 
The Quakers are finally back home at Jack Jensen Court on Friday Sept. 20th vs. Washington and Lee University at 6:30 p.m.
 
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