Tigerville, SC - The North Greenville Trailblazers returned to Hayes Gymnasium for the first time in the 2026 season for their Conference Carolinas home opener, taking the opening set before the Valkyries of Converse University bounced back to claim a 3-1 victory. NGU won the first set 25-23 before the Valkyries responded with set wins of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-18. North Greenville moved to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in Conference Carolinas, while Converse improved to 4-6 overall and remained unbeaten in conference play at 3-0.
North Greenville overcame a strong offensive opening set from the Valkyries to take the early advantage. The Valkyries recorded 16 kills and hit .289, but the Trailblazers battled through the tight frame and came away with a 25-23 victory.
Converse answered in the second set, hitting .269 with 13 kills while North Greenville recorded 10 kills and hit .179. The Valkyries evened the match with a 25-22 victory before carrying the momentum into the third. NGU put together 12 kills in the third set, but seven attack errors limited the Trailblazers to a .156 hitting percentage as Converse took the set 25-20.
The Trailblazer offensive struggles continued in the fourth set. NGU committed 10 attack errors against nine kills and finished the set with a -.026 hitting percentage. Converse also struggled offensively in the frame, hitting .079, but did enough to earn a 25-18 victory and close out the match.
Anna Fiddelke led North Greenville with 10 kills, while Samantha Ball followed with nine. Karson Haley and Peyton Taylor each recorded eight kills.
NGU will return to action on Friday, September 18th against the Panthers of Ferrum College at Hayes Gymnasium
