DANVILLE, Va. — The Washington and Lee volleyball team registered a .352 hitting percentage on its way to sweeping North Carolina Wesleyan, 3-0, on Friday in a neutral-site contest at the Averett Cougar Classic. With the victory, Head Coach Bryan Snyder secured his 550th win at W&L.
 
Leading 7-6 in the first set, the Generals (2-0) tallied six straight points, highlighted by two kills from senior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School), to assume a 13-6 advantage. The Battling Bishops (1-1) trimmed the deficit to 13-10, but W&L answered with four straight points on its way to taking the set, 25-16.
 
In the second, each team had seven points, and then the Blue and White went on an 11-4 spurt to grab an 18-11 lead en route to winning the set, 25-15.  The Generals used another mid-set run to claim the third, 25-13. Holding a 10-8 advantage, W&L notched 10 of the next 12 points to extend the margin to 10 (20-10) and then cruised to the victory.
 
For the match, the Blue and White totaled 41 kills on 91 swings with only nine errors for a .352 hitting percentage. The Battling Bishops registered just 25 kills on 87 attempts with 14 errors for a .126 hitting percentage.
 
The Generals had four players notch at least seven kills. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Heifner (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall) led the squad with 12 kills and nine digs, while hitting .370. Senior right side Carson Allsteadt (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) tallied 11 kills on a .364 hitting percentage.
 
Blain recorded seven kills with a .364 hitting percentage and first-year outside hitter Avery Myers (New York, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day School) had seven kills, six digs and four service aces.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) led the team with 12 digs, and junior setter Ashley Webb (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) totaled 32 assists and two digs. Junior outside hitter Maggie McSwain (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) chipped in three kills, three digs and a team-best five blocks.
 
Senior outside hitter Michaela Seawell and senior middle blocker Sydney Barnwell each totaled seven kills to lead North Carolina Wesleyan. Junior defensive specialist Kira Kristjanson had 15 digs, while sophomore setter Sloan Martin tallied 20 assists.
 
The Generals have now won 18 consecutive matches dating back to the first match of last season on March 13. This is the longest winning streak since a program-best 25 straight wins during the 2007 season.
 
In his 22nd season, Snyder now has a 550-172 record (.762 winning percentage) at the helm of Washington and Lee. He is also just nine victories away from securing the 600th of his coaching career. Over his 24 seasons as a head coach, he has tabulated a record of 591-197 (.750 winning percentage).
 
The Generals take on host Averett later on Friday at 4:00 pm.