FERRUM, Va. — August 29, 2026 — Carolina University Women's Volleyball continued a busy week on Saturday, traveling to Ferrum College for a tri-match against host Ferrum and Spartanburg Methodist College.
The Bruins entered Saturday with momentum after earning a road victory over Bluefield University on Tuesday. Carolina battled Ferrum through five sets in the opening match before falling 3-2, then responded with a convincing 3-0 sweep of Spartanburg Methodist to close the day with a split.
Game 1: Ferrum 3, Carolina University 2
Carolina opened the tri-match with a back-and-forth five-set battle against Ferrum. The Bruins captured the opening set 26-24 before Ferrum answered in the second. Carolina regained the advantage with a 25-22 victory in the third, but the Panthers took the fourth 25-19 to force a deciding fifth set. Ferrum ultimately edged Carolina 15-13 to secure the 3-2 victory.
SarahElizabeth Samuels led the Carolina attack with 15 kills, while Britney Comolli followed with 13 kills on a .235 hitting percentage. Madison Kilgore contributed nine kills and 19 digs, and Melia Coleman added eight kills. Rachel Powell provided a spark with five kills while hitting .273.
The Bruins utilized multiple setters throughout the match, with Martina Rivolta recording a team-high 29 assists and 18 digs, while Keira Zarger added 13 assists. Zarger also delivered three of Carolina's nine service aces. Defensively, Carolina finished with 86 digs, led by Madison Kilgore's 19, Martina Rivolta's 18 and Charlee Hale's 14.
Carolina finished the five-set contest with 55 kills, nine service aces and 86 digs. The Bruins' strongest offensive set came in the third, when they recorded 15 kills while hitting .226.
Game 2: Carolina University 3, Spartanburg Methodist 0
Carolina responded immediately in its second match of the day, sweeping Spartanburg Methodist in straight sets, 26-24, 25-13 and 25-22.
Kennedy Dobard turned in an impressive performance for the Bruins, recording eight kills on 11 attempts with just one error for a .636 hitting percentage. Samuels added eight kills while hitting .250, and Powell finished with six kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Comolli contributed five kills, while Madison Kilgore added four.
Martina Rivolta directed the offense with 15 assists and added six digs, while Keira Zarger recorded eight assists and a match-high three service aces. Charlee Hale led Carolina defensively with 10 digs, followed by Madison Kilgore with eight and Emma-Grace Dubuc with seven.
As a team, Carolina produced 42 kills on 115 attempts with a .217 hitting percentage, while holding Spartanburg Methodist to a .128 hitting percentage. The Bruins saved their best offensive performance for the third set, putting down 17 kills with only four errors to hit .371 and finish off the sweep.
"I was proud of the way our team competed throughout the day," Head Coach Chelsea Jones said. "We battled through a tough five-set match against Ferrum and showed a lot of fight, and I really liked the way we responded in the second match. To come back out, play with energy and finish the day with a sweep says a lot about this group. We still have areas we need to improve, but we are continuing to grow each time we step on the court."
With Saturday's split following Tuesday's victory at Bluefield, the Bruins close the week with two wins in their three matches with their record now 3-4 on the young season.
Carolina University will return to the road on Tuesday, September 1, when the Bruins travel to West Virginia Tech for their next match.
