SARASOTA, Fla. – The William Carey volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a pair of victories Friday, outlasting Bethel (Ind.) in a five-set thriller before cruising past Florida Memorial in straight sets.
William Carey and Bethel opened the day by trading points early before the Pilots seized control midway through the first set with a 6-2 run. The Lady Crusaders briefly threatened to close the gap behind
Alyssa Portee and
Rachel Stegall, but Bethel responded with a decisive 6-0 run to pull away and claim the opening set.
The Lady Crusaders bounced back in a tightly contested second set. Bethel jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Carey answered with a 4-0 run to erase the deficit. The Pilots later pushed their advantage to 12-7, but the Lady Crusaders stayed composed. Behind two blocks, two aces, and a kill, Carey rallied to tie the score at 12.
From there, neither team led by more than three points. With the set tied at 23, an
Emily Martin kill gave William Carey set point, and Martin followed with a block on the next rally to seal a 25-23 victory and even the match.
William Carey carried that momentum into the third set, dominating from the opening serve. The Lady Crusaders raced to an 11-2 lead behind seven kills, a block, and several Bethel attack errors. Carey never looked back, cruising to a 25-10 win and taking a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth battle as neither side could create significant separation. Tied at 21, Bethel made its move, closing the set on a 4-1 run to force a decisive fifth set.
The Lady Crusaders responded in the final frame. After the teams traded points early, William Carey put together a key run behind
Rachel Stegall,
Agnes Hegardt, and Martin to build an 11-5 lead. Bethel continued to battle, but Carey maintained control the rest of the way, securing the match with a 15-8 victory capped by a kill from
Alejandra Villarreal.
In their second match of the day against Florida Memorial, the Lady Crusaders took command early and never looked back.
William Carey established control from the opening serve in the first set, while Florida Memorial struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Villarreal recorded several early kills, and the Lady Crusaders capitalized on a string of Lions attack errors to build a comfortable lead.
Florida Memorial trimmed the deficit to 8-7, but Carey responded with an 8-1 run fueled by four kills and two blocks to take a commanding 16-8 advantage. The Lady Crusaders maintained control the rest of the set, closing the frame on another Lions error to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set followed a similar script. An ace by Bicalho sparked an early run, while
Agnes Hegardt, Villarreal,
Aubrey Easley,
Alyssa Portee, and
Malorie Gaughf all contributed kills as William Carey surged ahead 17-7. The Lady Crusaders never let up, rolling to a 25-14 victory to move within one set of the match.
Florida Memorial showed more resistance in the third set, staying within striking distance early. Leading 11-8, William Carey seized control behind kills from Eckert and Easley, along with back-to-back aces from
Evelyn Araujo, to stretch the lead to seven points. The Lady Crusaders continued to apply pressure, extending their advantage to 19-11 before closing out a 25-14 win to complete the sweep.
William Carey returns to action Saturday to wrap up tournament play with matches against Warner University at 12:30 p.m. and New College of Florida at 4:30 p.m.
