Volley Toppers sweep Spartanburg Methodist in season opener
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Blue Mountain Christian opened the 2026 season Friday with a straight-sets victory over Spartanburg Methodist in the Carolina Classic hosted by Carolina University, the school said. The win moved the Volley Toppers to 1-0 as they began the tournament in Winston-Salem.
Blue Mountain Christian finished with 39 kills and hit .280 as a team, adding eight blocks and 52 digs, the school said. Salice Speed led the offense with nine kills while hitting .241. Speed also had nine digs and was credited with four blocks for a team-high 12.5 points.
Fresh addition Valeria Velez made an immediate impact in her first match, recording eight kills with no attack errors on 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage and 11 digs. Mattie Hopper had eight kills on 15 attempts and hit .400. Marissa Gerleman added seven kills and two blocks, and Olivia Lewis had five block assists and three kills while hitting .400, the school said.
Setters Olivia Domino, Sydney Tague and Brenyn Wilbanks distributed the attack with 12, 10 and nine assists, respectively. Defensively, Abbi Williams led the team with 17 digs as the Volley Toppers totaled 52. Blue Mountain Christian plays Bryan College (Tenn.) on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the Carolina Classic. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
