March 6: Women’s volleyball at home against Averett University
The Avenging Angels returned to the court against the Averett Cougars and split a doubleheader. The Cougars took victory in the first game with a score of three to one. Senior Ally Copenhaver finished the first game with a total of 33 attempts, nine digs and two block assists. Hailey Long had a total of 30 attempts, seven digs and three block solos. Avery Bowman had a total of 26 total attempts, four digs and two block assists. Whitney Bolton ended with 19 total attempts, one dig and one block assist. Lauren Bissette took the court for her first time as an Angel and ended with seven total attempts. Bailey Lucas finished with a total of five attempts and nine digs. Kristen Leavel, ‘21, finished the game with a total of four attempts. In the second game, the Angels took victory winning 3-0. Ally Copenhaver had 27 total attempts and 13 digs. Avery Bowman had 21 total attempts, six digs and two block assists. Hailey Long ended with 13 total attempts and one dig. Lauren Bissette finished with 12 total attempts, two digs and two block solos. Kristen Leavel, Whitney Bolton and Bailey Lucas finished out the second game with a total of seven attempts each.
March 6: Women’s lacrosse at Lynchburg College
The Meredith women’s lacrosse team put up a good fight against Lynchburg, but in the end it wasn’t enough and the Angels lost 17-13. Lilia Cruz, ‘21, scored five goals and three draw controls. Right behind her, with four goals and one assist, was Olivia Blake, ‘22. Arrianna May, ‘24, scored two goals and two draw controls for the Angels. Jessica Dowdy, ‘24, also scored two goals and eight draw controls. When asked how the game went and how the team would prepare for the next game, Coach Lauren Scott told The Herald, “Lynchburg was a tough game for us with a lot of last-minute adjustments needed. Although it wasn’t the outcome we were hoping for, it helped us see our vulnerabilities so we could grow and get better this week. For the next game, we have been working on ball movements and pressure as we hope to increase our pace of play.”
March 6: Women’s soccer at home against William Peace University
The Meredith soccer team hit the field with a 1-0 win against William Peace. Junior Lillian Fox scored the winning goal for the Angels in the second half of the game; she also had two shots at the goal and three shots all together. Fox told The Herald, “I love being back on the field because you lose that feeling of what it’s like to be on the field the minute you walk off. It’s a rush and you realize how much you love it once you get back out there. As for the goal, I saw the chance for my team and I knew I could make it. It was a hard-fought game by our team and I knew…how important it was for me to step up to the plate. Coming fresh out of half-time, I felt so proud to be able to put my team up a goal.” Morgan Thomas also had three shots at the goal and three shots all together. Freshman Charlotte Ward had one shot altogether.
March 7: Women’s softball at home against Emory & Henry College
The Meredith softball team played a double-header against Emory & Henry and lost both games. In the first game, the Angels were close with a score of 9-11. Sarah Manis, ‘24, was at bat five times and scored one run. Madison Hamilton, ‘21 and Fallon Wimberly batted four times and scored one run each. Rachel Johnson, ‘24, was also up to bat four times. Susanne Taylor, ‘21, and Tatum Smith both batted three times and had one run each. Savannah Talley, ‘24, got to bat three times and scored two runs. Senior Alyssa Drake was up to bat two times and scored two runs. Kendall Johnson, ‘24, got to bat twice in her first game as an Angel. In the second game, Sarah Manis batted three times. Alyssa Drake, Rachel Johnson, Fallon Wimberly, Tatum Smith, Savannah Talley, Susanne Taylor and Brie Caldwell all were up to bat twice during the second game. Madison Hamilton batted twice and got one run in. In the end, the final score was 1-10.
March 10: Women’s volleyball at home against Pfeiffer University
The Meredith volleyball team won against Pfeiffer with a final score of 3-0. Senior Ally Copenhaver ended the game with a total of 27 attempts, six digs, one block solo and one block assist. Copenhaver told The Herald, “To say emotions were high would be an understatement. [It had been] 484 days since Meredith volleyball had stepped on the court. Our first game together against one of our biggest conference opponents, Averett University. One of our teammates had just got down with an injury the week prior and we would have no fans — more importantly, our parents would not be able to attend.” Copenhaver said that while Pfeiffer had already played a few games while Meredith had not, the volleyball team still gave the game their all. She continued, “No one likes to lose but the fight and heart my team has for the game is immeasurable. I think we can all agree that above all else we are thankful to be back on the court together and playing the game we love. We may have lost on the scoreboard but we are winning in the fact that we are not just a team, we are family! That’s what sets our program apart and Coach Barkley is the heart of that.” Whitney Bolton finished with a total of 19 attempts, one dig, two block solos and three block assists. Hailey Long had 18 total attempts and one dig. Avery Bowman finished with a total of 12 attempts, five digs and one block assist. Lauren Bissette, ‘24, ended with eight attempts and one dig. Bailey Lucas finished with a total of four attempts, four digs and one block assist. Senior Abby Lee had a total of one attempt and one dig. Lauren Phillips, ‘21, ended a total of one attempt and nine digs.
March 12: Women’s track and field at Wendy’s Seahawk Invitational
The Meredith track and field team started off their season with a meet at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for the Wendy's Seahawk Navy Invitational. Corrine Weaver won the 5000-meter race with a time of 19:06.18. This time was the second-best time in the Meredith track and field history. Ansley Bucknam ran the 400-meter race, threw for shot put and javelin with finishing times and distances of 1:04.15, 7.14m and 15.05m. Bucknam also ran the 400-meter hurdles and had a record time of 1:13.86. Julie Tonon, who also ran the 5000 meters, ran a time of 20:24.87. Isabella Saudo ran the 5000-meter race with a time of 23:02.36. Emma Brooks ran the 5000-meter race with a finishing time of 24:02.84. Andrea Gallegos, ‘24, ran the 1500-meter and 800-meter races with times of 5:16.32 and 2:32.91. Ashleigh Buser, ‘24, ran the 1500-meter and 800-meter races with times of 5:47.24 and 2:48.38. Claire Miller, ‘24, ran the 1500-meter and 800-meter races with times of 5:56.50 and 2:46.69. Kaylee Spencer ran the 1500-meter race and finished with a time of 6:04.27. Francie Overman, ‘21, ran the 800-meter race and had a final time of 2:42.35. Mitxi Ortiz ran the 800-meter race with a time of 3:04.99. Jazmin Reyes ran the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash with finishing times of 20.71 and 30.55. Erin Outlaw ran the 200-meter and 400-meter races and had finishing times of 28.77 and 1:06.31. Grace Olufemi-Ajayi ran the 100-meter and 200-meter races and finished with times of 13.87 and 28.60. Also running the 100 and 200-meter races was Sara-Hale Watson and her final times were 15.43 and 32.21. Freshman Jala Pollock ran the 100-meter and 200-meter races and threw shot put and javelin. Her final times and distances were 15.60, 32.01, 5.85m and 14.06m. Kim Schuh, ‘21, threw for shot put and javelin with final distances of 9.66m and 26.61m.
March 12: Women’s volleyball at William Peace University
The Meredith Angels split a doubleheader and put up a good fight, but in the end, it was not enough to win either game. The final scores were 0-3 for the first game and 2-3 for the second game. In the first game, Ally Copenhaver, ‘21, had a total of 31 attempts and eight digs. Avery Bowman had a total of 28 attempts, nine digs, one block solo and two block assists. Hailey Long finished game one with a total of 28 attempts, three digs and two block assists. Lauren Bissette had a total of 15 attempts, one dig and four block assists. Whitney Bolton had a total of 14 attempts, one block solo and one block assist. Bailey Lucas finished with a total of eight attempts, nine digs and one block assist. Lauren Phillips, ‘21, had a total of one attempt and 20 digs. In the second game, Hailey Long had a total of 50 attempts, eight digs and three block assists. Avery Bowman had a total of 39 attempts, 12 digs and four block assists. Ally Copenhaver finished with a total of 33 attempts, 14 digs and one block assist. Whitney Bolton had 19 total attempts, one block solo and five block assists. Kristen Leavel, ‘21, had 15 total attempts, one dig and one block assist. Lauren Bissette finished with 12 total attempts, one dig and four block assists. Bailey Lucas had five total attempts and 13 digs. Lauren Phillips finished out the game with three total attempts and 24 digs.
March 13: Women’s lacrosse at home against Averett University
The Meredith lacrosse team crushed Averett with a final score of 24-1. Senior Lilia Cruz scored six goals, one assist and had 10 draw controls. Freshman Arrianna May scored four goals, one assist and one draw control. Tori Witmer scored three goals and five assists. Olivia Blake scored three goals and three assists. Jessica Dowdy, ‘21, scored three goals and had four draw controls. Maya Flake scored two goals and five assists. Briana Petrusa, ‘21, scored one goal, one assist and had three draw controls. Kylie Phillips scored one goal and one assist. Finishing out the game, Ali Schuh scored one goal.
March 13: Women’s softball at Greensboro College
The Meredith softball team split a double-header with the Greensboro Pride. Meredith lost the first game with a final score of 1-10. In the second game, Meredith came back and won with a score of 2-1. Danielle Hunt and Fallon Wimberly both pitched during the first game. Anna Goldman and Sarah Manis, ‘24, were up to bat three times each in the first game. Senior Madison Hamilton was up to bat two times and scored one run. Rachel Johnson, ‘21, Tatum Smith, Fallon Wimberly, Savannah Talley, ‘24, Susanne Taylor, ‘21, and Alyssa Drake, ‘21, were all up to bat twice in the first game. Sarah Gundlach pitched during the second game. In the second game, Alyssa Drake was up to bat four times and had one run. Senior Rachel Johnson was up to bat four times. Sarah Manis, ‘24, was up to bat three times and had one run. Anna Goldman, Fallon Wimberly, Tatum Smith, Susanne Taylor and Laura Tobin, ‘24, all batted three times during the second game. Savannah Talley finished out the game by batting twice.
March 13: Women’s soccer at home against Averett University
The Meredith soccer team won against Averett with a final score of 2-1. Senior Amelie Gillies had scored both of the winning goals. Gillies told The Herald, “I am very proud of my team. Each one of the players fought with everything they had in them. Even with low numbers of players due to injuries, I am speechless. We’re a big family that loves to work hard and uplift each one another while also enjoying the sport we love to play. After scoring goals, I felt happy and more hungry. Without my teammates to help me eat on and off the fields, I wouldn’t have done it myself.” Claire-Emma Britt, ‘24, had two total shots. Freshmen Charlotte Ward and Hannah Buttafuso both had a total of one shot each. Kaelin Sanderford had one total shot and one assist.
By Mia Russell, Staff Writer