MACON, Ga. - LaGrange and Coach Mo McKenney picked up their first wins with a 3-0 sweep of Wesleyan at Porter Gym on Thursday. Coach McKenney got her first win as a head coach as the Panthers (1-7, 1-0 USA South) opened their USA South schedule with a victory.

Juniors Jharia Harris and Karson Troth each had eight kills to tie with Wesleyan's Lativa Ray for match honors. Troth added 13 assists and seven digs. She was also one of four Panthers with two service aces each as LC had a season-high 10 in the match. 

Juniors Kirsten Boyd and Bre Dufault had match highs of 14 assists and 19 digs respectively. Junior Kylie Neal added seven kills and nine digs.

The Panthers took the match by scores of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-18. LC never trailed in the first set, rallied from an early deficit to take the second set, then closed out the match with a strong third set.

Boyd had three of her six kills in the first set. The set was tied twice in the early going. The Panthers gradually built their lead. They reeled off four straight points, with Boyd and Ariel Modeste each having a kill, while Bailey Moss finished it with a service ace to make it 23-16. LC got the final two points off a service error and an attack error to win the set 25-20.

Wesleyan (1-5, 0-1 USA South) led by as many as six points at the outset of the second set. Trailing 10-4, the Panthers went on a 9-1 run to go up 13-11. Tied at 18, the two teams swapped runs. LC had four straight points to go up 22-18, only to have the Wolves answer with their own run to tie the set at 22. Troth's kill and a service ace by Journey Oden put the Panthers up 24-22. Harris closed out the set with a kill off a set by Troth for the 25-23 final score.

LC shrugged off an early 4-1deficit in the third set to close out the match. A kill from Harris and a service ace by Boyd, sandwiched around a bad set by the Wolves gave the Panthers the lead for good, 9-7. Wesleyan stayed close and trailed by one, 19-18. The Panthers ended the set and the match with six straight points. Troth started the run with a service ace, followed by a kill. 

The Panthers play in a USA South tri-match Saturday at Demorest, Georgia. LC will face Covenant at 2 p.m., then takes on host Piedmont at 4 p.m.

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