Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey opened play at Elizabeth City State's 2026 Viking Classic Friday, sweeping a pair of matches. The Crusaders topped West Chester 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16, 15-12) in an early morning affair before returning in the afternoon with a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22) victory over Glenville State.

With the victories, the Crusaders improve to 4-1 on the season. Belmont Abbey plays two more matches tomorrow, facing host Elizabeth City State and Kutztown.
 

BELMONT ABBEY 3, WEST CHESTER 2

• EDITORS' NOTE: A technical issue with the stats program have caused these to be inaccurate. Changes will be made over the weekend.
• The Crusaders rallied from a 2-1 deficit by winning the fourth and fifth sets.
• The Abbey finished with 51 kills and hit .188 for the match, narrowly edging West Chester's .187 hitting percentage. BACalso held a 10-9 advantage in total team blocks.
• Renata Bolado led the Crusaders with 16 kills and added 28 digs, finishing with 17.5 points.
• Zoey Bradford delivered her best outstanding offensive performance in the early campaign, recording nine kills on 13 attempts with just one error for a .615 hitting percentage. She also finished with 9.0 points.
• Lola Sultenfuss added nine kills and four blocks, finishing with 12 points.
• Tyler Case contributed eight kills, 15 assists and 16 digs, while Emma Youngblood added four kills and a team-high 25 assists.
• Sheridan Young anchored the Crusader defense with a match-high 22 digs.
• After winning a back-and-forth first set, 26-24, West Chester answered by taking the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-16, Belmont Abbey responded emphatically in the fourth, hitting .333 with 12 kills and only two errors to force a decisive fifth set.
• The Crusaders controlled the fifth set late, turning a 6-6 tie into a 10-6 advantage before closing out the match, 15-12. Bolado delivered two consecutive kills during the decisive run.
• Belmont Abbey finished the match with 12 service aces, including three each from Mallory Swain and Sultenfuss.

BELMONT ABBEY 3, GLENVILLE STATE 1

• Belmont Abbey outhit the Pioneers .244 to .209 as a team and finished with a 48-48 tie in kills.
• Bolado led the Crusaders with 14 kills while adding 20 digs for a double-double. She also recorded two service aces and a team-high 16.5 points.
• Taylor Marts had nine kills on 17 attempts with just one error for a team-best .471 hitting percentage. She added five total blocks.
• Sultenfuss registered nine kills while hitting .368, finishing with just two errors in 19 attempts.
• Case contributed five kills and nine digs, while Sheridan Young also recorded nine digs.
• Youngblood paced the offense with 45 assists and added 13 digs and two service aces.
• Swenson, Swain, Young and Mary Grace Hogue each recorded a service ace.
• The Crusaders saved their best offensive performance for the fourth set, hitting .345 with 13 kills on 29 attempts to close out the victory.