DANVILLE, VA - To open their day at the 31st Annual Cougar Classic hosted by Averett University, the McMurry War Hawks fell to the Guilford Quakers in four sets, 25-22, 25-16, 19-25, 25-15.
Offensively, the War Hawks were led by
Layleah Williams-Gibson with 11 kills and
Marcette Williams with 12.
Alexis Dolton and
Carli Colbert directed the offense, contributing 13 and 17 assists, respectively.
Defensively,
Jalie Miller had a team-high 17 digs, with Colbert and
Shaely Rogers also adding 14 and 12 digs. The team demonstrated their presence at the net with eight total blocks.
McMurry struggled early, falling behind 6-1 in the first set before rallying to tie it at 17-17, but ultimately lost the set. They then dropped the second set. The War Hawks showed resilience in the third set, using a crucial 7-0 run to take a commanding lead and win 25-19. However, McMurry couldn't maintain the momentum and dropped the final set and the match.
In the second match-up of the day, McMurry secured a thrilling five-set victory over host Averett University, battling back from a two-set deficit to win 25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 15-25, 18-16.
Rylie Patterson and
Marcette Williams led the offense with 16 and 14 kills, respectively, while
Layleah Williams-Gibson added 10 kills. Setters
Alexis Dolton and
Carli Colbert orchestrated the attack with 18 and 25 assists, respectively.
On defense,
Jalie Miller recorded a team-high 33 digs, with
Shaely Rogers (15 digs) and Colbert (nine digs) also contributing. The team also had nine total blocks, with Williams-Gibson leading the charge.
After cruising to wins in the first two sets, McMurry faced a tough comeback from Averett, who took the following two sets to force a decisive fifth. The final set was a close contest with nine tie scores before McMurry fought off two match points to secure the dramatic victory.
The War Hawks return to the court Saturday to face Roanoke College at 9:00 a.m. and Methodist University at 1:00 p.m. Both schools opened up 1-1 in their first two matches of the tournament.
