The North Greenville Trailblazers saw their five-match winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon, falling to the Hawks of Chowan University in a five-set thriller in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.
North Greenville and Chowan alternated sets with scores of 24-26, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 and 8-15, dropping to 12-9 overall and 8-5 in conference play. Chowan improved to 6-14 overall and 5-8 in the conference.
The opening set featured strong offensive performances from both teams. North Greenville recorded 16 kills on 41 attempts, hitting .268, but Chowan answered with 18 kills and a .366 hitting percentage. The Hawks narrowly claimed the opening set in extra points 26-24 to take a 1-0 lead.
The Trailblazers responded with a dominant defensive performance in the second set. NGU held Chowan to just seven kills while forcing eight attack errors, resulting in a negative .023 hitting percentage for the Hawks. North Greenville recorded 12 kills and hit .156, pulling away for a 25-17 victory to even the match at one set each.
Chowan regained the advantage in the third set as the North Greenville offense struggled to find its rhythm. The Trailblazers managed eight kills with six errors on 39 attempts, hitting just .051. Chowan recorded 17 kills and overcame 10 attack errors to claim the set 25-23.
Facing a 2-1 deficit, North Greenville delivered one of its strongest offensive sets of the afternoon in the fourth. The Trailblazers recorded 14 kills with only three errors on 46 attempts, producing a .239 hitting percentage. NGU also held Chowan to a .100 percentage, forcing nine attack errors on the way to a 25-20 victory that sent the match to a 5th set.
The Hawks controlled the final frame with their most efficient offensive performance of the afternoon. Chowan recorded nine kills without committing an attack error on 19 attempts, hitting .474. North Greenville finished with eight kills and five errors on 26 attempts for a .115 percentage, allowing Chowan to take the set 15-8 and secure the match.
Elise Smith led the Trailblazers offensively with a match-high 17 kills while committing just two attack errors on 39 attempts for an impressive .385 hitting percentage. Smith also contributed two block assists.
Anna Fiddelke delivered another strong all-around performance, finishing with 16 kills and a .261 hitting percentage. Fiddelke recorded six total blocks, including four solo blocks and two block assists. She also contributed with nine digs.
Peyton Taylor added nine kills while leading North Greenville defensively with a match-high 23 digs. Taylor also recorded two service aces and two assists.
Samantha Ball contributed seven kills, eight digs and a solo block, while Lydia Northam finished with four kills and six total blocks, including four solo blocks and two block assists. Gabby Rice added three kills on four attempts for a .750 hitting percentage.
North Greenville will return to action on Tuesday, October 13th to face the Bobcats of Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.
