GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sophomore outside hitter Valeria Rosa Lopez notched her fourth double-double of the season (17 kills/17 digs) and second in as many matches, but it was the combination of Cam Blankenship (12 kills) and Adison Needham (nine) that made the difference as Guilford earned a 3-1 victory over the Spirits by scores of 25-12, 19-25, 25-21, 25-11 in volleyball action at Jack Jensen Court on Saturday, September 18th.
Lopez, who led all hitters with 17 kills, was joined offensively by the duo of Brooklyn Snow and Taylor Alleyne, who finished with seven and five kills, respectively. Lopez also controlled the back row for the Spirits with 17 digs, also a match-high, while Macy Nelson added nine and Snow emerged with six.
Alleyne and Snow made their presence felt up front with two assisted blocks each, while Brianna Moore contributed 22 assists.
Guilford (3-8) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but a series of errors allowed the Spirits to trim the deficit to one, before Lydia Saunders took over in serve as the Quakers established a 12-4 advantage. Lopez and Snow helped put the Spirits into double figures, 15-10, with a 6-3 rally. However, Guilford answered with seven kills, including three from Kaitlyn Kelley, to earn the 25-12 win.
Salem regrouped in the start of the second set to force eight ties in the first 20 points, resulting in a 10-all tie. The Quakers rattled off three straight points, but a Spirits timeout along with slams by Lopez, put Dania Shoaf in serve as Salem responded with an 8-4 lead and an 18-14 advantage. A series of kills by Snow and Lopez, along with timely slams by Laken Edwards and Brianna Cherry, completed the six-point win for Salem.
With momentum on its side, Salem bolted out to a 10-3 lead in the third set behind four kills from Lopez and two off the hand of Snow. Guilford chipped away at the lead with Hannah Stout in serve, trimming the margin to 10-7, but a series of unforced errors along with a kill from Alleyne kept Salem in front by four. Five Quaker kills highlighted an 11-3 rally that resulted in a 20-16 lead. Two kills down the stretch by Lopez was not enough to offset the slams by Blankenship and Needham as Guilford move back in front 2-1 in the match.
Guilford's Maddi Page helped provide a 9-2 lead early in the fourth set as the Quakers offense was clicking on all cylinders. A Lopez kill, along with a pair of unforced errors resulted in the fifth point for Salem as the Quakers moved in front 12-5. Saunders' service game helped that lead move to 18-5 with six unanswered points. Salem had just two kills down the stretch as Guilford closed out the match with a 25-11 win.
The Spirits will now head to Pfeiffer for a match on Tuesday, September 21st which begins USA South Conference play.
