Volley Toppers sweep Spartanburg Methodist in season opener
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Blue Mountain Christian University opened its 2026 season with a straight-sets win over Spartanburg Methodist on Friday at the Carolina Classic hosted by Carolina University, the school said.
The Volley Toppers improved to 1-0 with a balanced offensive effort, finishing with 39 kills while hitting .280 as a team. Blue Mountain Christian also recorded eight blocks and 52 digs in the victory, the release said.
Salice Speed led the Volley Toppers with nine kills and hit .241; she also had nine digs, was involved in four blocks and finished with a team-high 12.5 points. Freshman or newcomer Valeria Velez made an immediate impact in her first match as a Volley Topper, posting eight kills with no attack errors on 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage and adding 11 digs. Mattie Hopper had eight kills on 15 attempts (.400), Marissa Gerleman added seven kills and two blocks, and Olivia Lewis had five block assists and three kills.
Setters Olivia Domino, Sydney Tague and Brenyn Wilbanks distributed the offense with 12, 10 and nine assists, respectively, and Abbi Williams led the defense with 17 digs. Blue Mountain Christian continues at the Carolina Classic and faces Bryan College (Tenn.) on Aug. 22 at 9:30 a.m. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
