NEWS

Elena Garcia-Guerrios in the match against Wofford. (News of Davidson photo)

‘Cats Beat Winthrop In Five Sets on Opening Night

Friday – The Davidson volleyball team took down Winthrop in an epic five-set match on opening night inside Belk Arena.

The ‘Cats won the fifth set 18-16. While the score was 16-16, Ariyana Johnson reached across the table on press row and saved the point for the Wildcats. Moments later, Ngodoo Harris recorded a solo block and gave Davidson a 17-16 advantage. Meile Songaila’s 10th dig proved to be a pivotal one as it lead to an Elena Garcia-Guerrios kill which closed out the match.

Garcia-Guerrios finished the match with 20 kills, only three attack errors, and a .340 hitting percentage. The senior also recorded 12 digs.

Davidson won the first set 25-22 and the third set 25-15.

Winthrop forced a fifth set with an impressive 25-18 win in the fourth.

Kinsey Smith led the ‘Cats with 44 assists and a career-high 19 digs. Those 44 assists are the second-most in a match by Smith in her career.

Adlee Grissett wore the Libero jersey all night and recorded a career-high 19 digs.

Meile Songaila finished with 14 kills and 10 digs. It’s the fifth double double of her career.

Ngodoo Harris registered a career-high nine kills, had only one attack error, and an .800 hitting percentage.

Wildcats Fall To No. 19 UNC In Front Of Record-Setting Crowd

Saturday – For the first time under head coach Chris Willis, the Davidson Wildcats hosted a ranked non-conference opponent in No. 19 North Carolina on Saturday afternoon inside Belk Arena. Despite losing in straight sets (22-25, 17-25, 22-25), the ‘Cats welcomed a record-setting crowd of 1,303 fans.

For the second straight match, Kinsey Smith produced a service ace to begin the first set. The Wildcats led 9-5 and at one point 12-7 during the opening set. The Tar Heels did not take their first lead until 17-16 when Emily Bobbitt recorded a service ace. Ariyana Johnson led Davidson with eight kills, only one error, and a .412 hitting percentage during this frame. Johnson finished with 13 kills and a .206 hitting percentage across the entire match.

North Carolina bounced back in the second set with a .407 team hitting percentage. Davidson recorded a .032 hitting percentage in the second frame.

After just three kills in the first two sets, Elena Garcia-Guerrios posted five kills with a .273 hitting percentage in the third frame. The third set was also very tight most of the way. Neither team held a lead larger than two points until the Tar Heels jumped ahead 18-15. The ‘Cats climbed right back and won five of the next seven points. The score was tied, 20-20, in the third set. Just like the first two sets, UNC’s Chelsea Thorpe ended the final frame with a kill.

Davidson Falls To Wofford In Four Sets

Sunday – Davidson fell to the three-time defending SoCon champion Wofford in four sets (19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 21-25) on Sunday afternoon inside Belk Arena. The Wildcats wrap up the Wildcat Classic with one win and two losses.

Wofford took the opening set 25-19. The Terriers posted a .341 hitting percentage and the Wildcats had a .233 hitting percentage. Middle blockers, Mia Compas and Ngodoo Harris, provided a spark for the ‘Cats to keep the set close. Harris had three kills on four swings and Compas had three kills on six swings.

The ‘Cats trailed 19-13 in the second set and battle back. Davidson won nine of the next 11 points and the score was tied at 21-21. That stretch was highlighted by a block from Mia Compas and Ariyana Johnson as well as kills from Elena Garcia-Guerrios and Johnson. Wofford responded with four of the next five points to take the second set 25-22.

Neither team had a lead larger than three points in the third set until Davidson went on a run once the score was 11-11. The Wildcats won four straight points. This was highlighted by a block from Ariyana Johnson and Ngodoo Harris. This set featured seven lead changes. Cayla Weisner checked into the match for the first time in the third set and made a significant impact. Weisner recorded three blocks down the stretch to help the ‘Cats win the third set. The ‘Cats finally pushed past the Terriers to force a fourth set. 

Meile Songaila led the Wildcats with four kills (.571 hitting percentage) in the fourth set. Natalie Arnold and Avery White combined for 12 kills and only one error for the Terriers in this frame. White recorded the final two kills to close out the match in four sets for Wofford.

Ariyana Johnson finished with a team-high 12 kills with a .310 hitting percentage. Elena Garcia-Guerrios recorded 19 digs, which is the most the senior has logged in a match since September 13, 2024 (sophomore year). Kinsey Smith led the Wildcats with 28 assists.

WILDCAT CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Davidson
– Ngodoo Harris
– Elena Garcia-Guerrios

Wofford
– Chloe Smith (MVP)
– Natalie Arnold
– Laney Klika

Winthrop
– Paige Bennett
– Addison Torain

UP NEXT

Davidson prepares for three matches in three days next weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C. from September 4-6. The Wildcats face Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 4, Georgetown at 3 p.m. on Sept. 5, and UCF at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 6.