Meredith Volleyball Claims USA South Tournament Title

The Avenging Angels volleyball team are the 2023 USA South Tournament Champions after taking down Greensboro College 3-2 (29-31, 16-25, 25-12, 25-19, 15-12) on November 11 inside Weatherspoon Gymnasium.

A grueling first set saw 60 total points played, with the visiting Pride ultimately taking it 31-29 to gain an early advantage. Greensboro would use that momentum in the second set to cruise to a 25-16 win. A change in strategy for Meredith would help the Angels get on the board via a 25-12 third set win. Following a 25-19 fourth set victory, the final would head to a deciding fifth set.

In the fifth and deciding set, Meredith jumped out to a 7-5 lead only to see Greensboro grab an 8-7 advantage. The Avenging Angels went on a 4-1 run to get to an 11-9 lead, the Pride got to within one at 13-12, before Meredith scored the final two points to win 15-12. 

Meredith was led offensively by Emma Duncan and Lauren Bissette who each had 15 kills. Hannah Jo Jablonski contributed a team-high 18 digs while Lillie Davis added 39 assists with Ashley Smith coming off the bench for 12 assists and five digs. 

Freshman Kinley Copeland added nine kills with four blocks while sophomore Alexa House, the conference leader in service aces, added two aces with 10 digs. 

Four Meredith players were named to the 2023 All-Tournament Team: Lauren Bissette (MVP), Lillie Davis, Emma Duncan, and Hannah Jo Jablonski.

Meredith College was one of just 64 teams to make the NCAA tournament. On November 16, the Avenging Angels fell 3-0 against Emory University in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Emory came into the match ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 7 in the country overall. The Region VI tournament site was Berry College in Rome, GA.

Follow Meredith athletics at goavengingangels.com