Tigerville, S.C.—Senior Madison Allen was honored before the game, and registered eight digs on defense, while Rachel Burts pounded out 10 kills, as the Crusaders fall 3-0 to Erskine College in a crucial Conference Carolinas showdown for North Greenville.

The eight digs put Allen at 105 digs for the season, giving her triple digit digs all four seasons as part of the Crusader volleyball team. NGU trailed early in set one, calling the first timeout of the game with the score settled at 7-2. The Fleet service game was strong in the first set, as Erskine dished out three aces in the first 10 points. The Flying Fleet ended the first frame with four aces from the line, and 10 for the game. Statistically, both offenses were dialed in, in the opening set as the Crusaders hit at a .348 clip, while Erskine edged North Greenville with a .417 hitting percentage. The Flying Fleet would lead 22-15 late, but the Crusaders rattled off four straight points to pull to within three of Erskine. The Fleet were however able to outlast NGU’s late set run, to take a 25-19 win, and a 1-0 set lead.

The offenses cooled in the second frame, The Crusaders edged the Fleet in hitting percentage hitting at a .205 while Erskine fell behind with a .162.  Both teams committed four errors in the frame, as the Flying Fleet took an early 4-1 lead. NGU grabbed the momentum for the first time during the match however, and riding the serve of Taylor Dupes, battled back to take a 7-4 lead. Erskine would regain the momentum however would ride it to a 10-7 lead, and an eventual 25-20, to take a 2-0 set lead over NGU.

North Greenville would come up short in the final set of the night as well, droping the decision to the Fleet after a 25-18 loss in the third set. NGU had one attacker in double figure kills in Burts who finished with 10, while Yomi Adeyeye and Hannah Helbert finished with seven each. Elizabeth James ran point for the Crusaders dishing out 21 assists with two service aces. Libero Codiann Amis lead the Crusaders with 11 digs while Gabby Sehres added a solo and three assisted blocks.

The Crusaders were eliminated from Conference Carolinas playoff contention with the loss to the Fleet, falling to 7-26 overall, and 6-11 in league play. North Greenville will wrap up the 2013 regular season on Friday with a trip to Due West, South Carolina to take on the Flying Fleet of Erskine for the second time this week. First serve between the Crusaders and Fleet is scheduled for  7pm.