The North Greenville Crusaders came out of the opening day of the USC Aiken Invitational with a 3-0 loss to the Jaguars of Augusta University followed by a 3-0 victory against the Eagles of Carson-Newman University with all three sets ending with a score of 25-21 in Aiken, South Carolina. NGU struggled in the opening match, posting a negative attack percentage in all three sets against the Jaguars and trailing in all major categories, including service aces 5-0. However, the Crusaders were able to recover with a much better second match against Carson-Newman, recording a .244 attack percentage and leading in all except blocks and aces.

Momentum swings told the story in the opening match of the day, with most of those runs going to Augusta including a 9-3 run to begin set one, a 10-1 run to end set two, and an 11-0 run to put set three on ice early. In match two of the day, NGU would vastly improve with momentum shifts of their own. A 7-1 run by the Crusaders was followed by a 6-1 run by the Eagles. However, North Greenville would bounce back to end the set on a 6-0 run to take it 25-21. Sets two and three were controlled by the Crusaders early on, and were able to ultimately take the two sets also with scores of 25-21.

Abigail Durham led NGU in kills to end both matches, finishing the day with 19 total kills. She also posted 8 digs, a block assist, and a set assist. Ashlyn Conner was solid as the setter, finishing the day with a total of 30 assists and 11 digs. Anna Fiddelke put together an impressive performance in match two of the day, posting ten kills and a block assist.

NGU will return to action tomorrow against the host team, the Pacers of USC Aiken.