Volleyball Downs Division II Foe Fort Valley State

MACON, Ga. - Captain Cecilia Cortez capped a thrilling comeback with an ace on the match's final point to rally Wesleyan College past Fort Valley State University 3-2 at Porter Gymnasium.

The Pioneers score the school's first win over a higher division school in any sport in years with the victory against the Division II Wildcats.

"I'm extremely proud of the team for getting this win," said head coach J.D. McAlister. "They came together, played as a team and played with the knowledge they were going to win."

The match did not start out in Wesleyan's favor as the Pioneers (2-12) dropped the first set 25-17 and lost the final two points of the second set to lose 25-23, digging themselves a 2-0 hole. The rally began in impressive fashion with Wesleyan cruising to a third set victory 25-16 as the defense forced FVSU (6-20) into 11 errors. The fourth set proved to be closer, but the Pioneers elicited 12 more Wildcat errors to win 25-22.

In the decisive fifth set, Cortez gave the team its 13th ace of the match to clinch the win.

Freshman La'Joi  Battle finished with eight kills and five solo blocks to spark the Pioneers. Adrianne Woodward added a great all-around match with five kills, six aces and 12 digs.

Wesleyan returns to the court on Saturday in a Great South Athletic Conference tri-match at Salem College. Huntingdon College joins the Pioneers and the host Spirits in the match.