CENTRAL, S.C – The Erskine College women's volleyball team (1-3, 1-2 CC) earned their first win of the season by defeating Southern Wesleyan University (0-2, 0-2 CC) in five sets; 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 in Tysinger Gymnasium on Friday evening.
Senior Reilly Bartlett led the way for the Fleet with a triple-double (38 assists, 13 kills, 12 digs).
 
THE ESSENTIALS:
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | Conf. Carolinas Digital Network
 
THE SERIES
Erskine now leads the all-time series 11-3 and have won four of the last five meetings between the teams.

THE MATCH
Set 1: Southern Wesleyan began the match winning nine of the first eleven points and led 15-6 before Erskine came roaring back. Behind a pair of kills from Makenzie Kinne and Reilly Bartlett, the Fleet won seven consecutive points to get back into the first set. The Warriors won the next point, but Erskine followed with a 9-1 scoring run which included kills from four different Erskine players to take a 21-17 lead. Maddie Wilson and Kaile Tuisamatatele each tallied kills at the end of the set and a Warriors service error sealed a 25-21 comeback win for Erskine in Set 1.
 
Set 2: The Fleet won the first three points from a Kinne kill and consecutive Bartlett aces. Later in the set, Bartlett tallied kills on consecutive points to give Erskine an 11-7 lead. But, Southern Wesleyan responded with a 8-1 scoring run as they took their first lead at 19-15. Bartlett and Katy Torgerson had kills in the closing stages of the set, but the Warriors pulled away late to win Set 2 by a score of 25-19.
 
Set 3: Torgerson picked up three kills in the first nine points of the third set and Erskine jumped out to a 7-4 lead. The Warriors won four straight points to take their first lead at 10-9, but the Fleet quickly answered back as two kills from Wilson put Erskine back up 13-11. Southern Wesleyan took the lead back moments later in what was a closely fought set, but Erskine responded with another 8-1 scoring run for the second consecutive set as they led 22-18 behind a pair of kills from Torgerson and an ace from Rebecca Massengill. Tuisamatatele finished of a Set 3 victory with kills on two of the final three points as Erskine won it 25-22 and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4: The Fleet led 4-3 in the early stages of the fourth set behind two kills and an ace from Torgerson, but the Warriors went on a mini 3-0 scoring run and held the lead for most of the set. Erskine hung around and finally got back in front on a Jauhna Smith kill to take a 20-19 lead. An ace from Wilson moments later extended Erskine's lead to two points, and Bartlett tallied consecutive kills as the Fleet were just two points away from finishing the match in Set 4, leading 23-21. But Southern Wesleyan won the final four points of the set to win it 25-23 and force a fifth set.
Set 5: The Warriors built on that momentum and took an early 5-3 lead in Set 5. But, fueled by three kills from Smith, the Fleet won 10 of the next 13 points to take a 13-8 lead. Tuisamatatele tallied a kill which stopped a brief Warriors run and set up a match point for the Fleet. Bartlett's 38^th assist off the night found Torgerson who finished a five-set victory with her 15^th kill.
 
THE PLAYER
Reilly Bartlett picked up her first career triple-double with a team-high 38 assists as well 13 kills and 12 digs in the Fleet victory. Bartlett becomes the first Conference Carolinas player to tally a triple-double this season and just the ninth player in all of Division II to achieve that feat in 2021.
 
THE TEAM
Erskine hit a season high .223 (65 K / 23 E / 188 TA) and tallied eight aces and nine blocks in the five-set win.

WHAT'S NEXT? 
The Fleet are back home tomorrow as they host Converse College (0-2, 0-2 CC) at 2:00 p.m. at Belk Arena. Erskine has dominated the all-time series, leading 18-3, including a five-set victory in the last meeting between the teams back in 2019.

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