SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College women's volleyball team dropped Davis & Elkins in straight sets, 3-0, in its 2026 season opener at Goodman Arena on Friday night. With a sweep in the nightcap, all four matches on the first day of the 5th Set Invitational finished 3-0.
Catawba's (1-0) freshman twins were the story of the night, debuting with a combined 26 kills. Rebekah Ayers led the way with 16 strikes on a .520 hitting percentage, three digs and two blocks. Maggie Ayers tallied 10 kills with a .350 success rate in addition to three digs and no errors in nine receptions. Lillie Kate Rogers flirted with a double-double, recording 10 kills and eight digs to kick off her junior campaign. Camden Bizot posted team highs of 30 assists, 11 digs and two service aces in her first contest with the blue and white.
The Catawba Indians hit a blistering .253 while putting Davis & Elkins (0-2) in the negative with a -.037 clip. The Senators were doubled up in kills (39-18) and blocks (3-1), but kept service tighter with a 5-4 ace count that favored Catawba and an .865-.849 service percentage split that favored D&E.
Catawba opened up a 3-0 lead but a five-point swing saw the Senators gain momentum early. Tied 11-11, Rebekah Ayers and Bizot keyed a 7-0 run that added breathing room for the hosts. Although D&E charged late, the Catawba Indians warded off the rally and took a 25-19 win in the opening stanza.
The start of the second frame was a doppelganger of the first, except for D&E not going away as easily in the middle section. Madi McIlwain emerged with a big solo block and a kill to gain an 11-10 lead. Maggie Ayers scorched a pair of shots from the edge as her sister and McIlwain teamed up for a denial. Following a Senator timeout at 21-15, Giulia Allison fired her first career ace and D&E suffered a few miscues that sealed its own fate for a 25-17 end to the set.
Rebekah Ayers turned up the heat in the third period, notching three kills in an early six-rally span despite the Senators keeping pace. Up 13-11 with the serve, Catawba inflicted a punishing run of six straight kills – five from the Ayers twins, one from Rogers – to force a D&E timeout. The Senators rebounded, winning three of the ensuing four points, but two Rebekah Ayers darts and a Riley Hill ace served as the dagger in a lopsided 25-14 deciding set.
Catawba's victory helped the South Atlantic Conference get to a marvelous 16-3 start to the 2026 season; the final SAC match in Friday's slate began at 11:30 p.m. ET between Lenoir-Rhyne and Alaska Anchorage in the Last Frontier.
The 5th Set Invitational resumes tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. as Catawba is back in action against Belmont Abbey at noon, then wraps up the weekend by taking on Erskine at 4 p.m.
POSTGAME COMMENTS (Head Coach Brenn Ferguson and Lillie Kate Rogers)
