Volleyball Southern Conference

Volleyball capsules for the weekend of October 18-20

Chattanooga Aces Appalachian State 3-0
(October 18)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Junior Jody Steinberger set a career high with five aces in a match to power Chattanooga's volleyball team to a three-game victory over Appalachian State Friday night at Maclellan Gym 30-21, 30-24, 30-27. UTC won't have much time to relish the win because ETSU visits Big Mac Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in a key SoCon matchup.

The Lady Mocs (6-15 overall, 3-8 SoCon) won back-to-back matches for the second time this season and moved into a tie for eighth place in the league with ETSU. UTC's victory avenges a 3-1 loss at Appalachian State on Sept. 12.

Chattanooga freshman Kelley Smith had her best hitting night of the season with 10 kills and a .600 average. Julie Buck nearly matched Smith at the net with 10 kills and a .588 hitting average, plus she was in on four blocks. Steinberger added 10 digs and eight kills just four days after being named SoCon Player of the Week.

Lindsey Galloway led UTC in digs with 12 and Kari Krouse picked up 11 digs and five kills. Kelly Ramsay added seven kills and six digs. Jessica Woodby had 39 assists, her highest total for a three-game match.

UTC jumped to a big lead in game one. Four kills from Buck plus four UTC aces gave the Lady Mocs the victory. The second game was tied 23-all before UTC reeled off seven of the next eight points for the win. UTC was aided by three ASU hitting errors, and Steinberger recorded three aces in the game, including the game-winner.

The Mountaineers (11-12, 5-6) roared to a 9-2 lead in the third game, but Chattanooga clawed back into it and took its first lead at 18-17 on Krouse's kill. Back-to-back kills from Smith and Ramsay and an ASU hitting error gave UTC a 25- 21 cushion. Three more Appalachian hitting errors kept UTC ahead and Buck's thunderous kill was the game-winner.

The Mountaineers were led by Kali Rumberger (nine kills, 15 digs), Chrissy Finch (nine kills, 11 digs) and Katherine Dean (nine kills, four blocks). Alexis Mosley added 11 digs and Starla Gustafson had 32 assists.

Davidson Tops Lady Paladins 3-1
(October 18)

Greenville, S.C. The Davidson Wildcats rallied from a 29-27 deficit to take a 32-30 win in game three on their way to a 30-18, 18-30, 32-30, 30-25 win over Furman in volleyball action Friday night at Timmons Arena.

The Wildcats, 14-8 overall and 7-3 in the Southern Conference, were led by Rebecca Teichgraeber's 12 kills and ten digs. Julia Hueckel added a team-high 13 kills, while chipping in six digs. Latisha Chapman joined Teichgraeber and Hueckel in double digit kills with 11.

Abby Simon (Simpsonville, S.C.) led the Lady Paladins in a losing effort with a season-high 22 kills. Amber Montague contributed 12 kills and nine digs, while Lighthouse Point, Fla., native Carrie Rowley provided a team-high 15 digs.

The loss dropped the Lady Paladins to 13-9 overall and 8-3 in Southern Conference play. Two of Furman's three SoCon loses have come at the hands of the Wildcats.

Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts UNC Greensboro in a 7:00p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.

Lady Mocs Win Third Straight Behind Steinberger
(October 19)

Jody Steinberger continued her recent torrid pace by knocking down 22 kills with a .320 attack average, powering Chattanooga's volleyball team to a four-game win over East Tennessee State Saturday at Maclellan Gym 30-21, 30-28, 27-30, 30-24.

The win was UTC's third in a row and tied for the team's longest winning streak of the season. The Lady Mocs upped their record to 7-15 overall and 4-8 in the SoCon, while ETSU dropped to 5-15 and 3-9.

Steinberger, who finished with a dozen digs and two aces, had a dominating presence from the outset as she drilled six kills and had two blocks in game one. UTC hit a rousing .313 at the net to take a 30-21 triumph.

In game two, ETSU led 28-27 but a serving error tied the game. Julie Buck and Kelley Smith assisted on back-to-back blocks for the victory. Keri Krouse and Lindsey Galloway both had six digs in the game and Kelly Ramsay had five kills.

ETSU's Renee Vesey had 12 assists and five kills in the third game as ETSU fended off UTC's furious late rally. Meghan Connolly and Karen Freeburg both had six digs in the game and Sara Scandiffio added four kills.

Krouse's six kills paced UTC in the fourth game, plus she had seven digs and an ace.

For the match, Krouse had 13 kills, 18 digs and three aces. Galloway led the way defensively with 20 digs, while Jessica Woodby had 13 digs and 44 assists. Smith finished with six block assists and nine kills and Ramsay was in on four blocks and had 10 kills.

ETSU's loss overshadowed a great all-around game by Vesey who had 10 kills and no errors on 13 attacks (.769 hitting average), plus she had 42 assists, seven digs and two aces. Nicole Ryan had 13 kills and Connolly had 10. Karen Freeburg led the defense with 22 digs while Connolly had 19 and Ryan 10. Scandiffio was in on six blocks and Katie Ralph assisted on five.

Saturday's game concluded UTC's longest home stand of the season (five games) and the Lady Mocs hit the road next weekend for a pair of games Saturday at Davidson (5 p.m.) and Sunday at UNC Greensboro (2 p.m.).

Western Carolina Takes Down App State, 3-1, in SoCon Volleyball Action
(October 19)

Cullowhee, N.C. - After four grueling games, the Western Carolina volleyball team put away Appalachian State 30-23, 26-30, 30-21, 30-22 Saturday night at the Ramsey Center. With the win, WCU improves to 17-7, 9-3 SoCon and ASU drops to 11-13, 5-7 SoCon.

The Mountaineers took the early lead in the first game, jumping ahead 3-1. However, the Catamounts fought back to take the 4-3 lead on a kill by Sara Komosinski. Western kept the lead for the remainder of the game to win it. In the second, the Cats struggled to keep the game close, tying the score five times, but ASU pulled away after a kill by Stefanie Panzer and two from Chrissy Finch. The Mountaineers remained in the lead and took game two to even the match at 1-1.

After a 1-1 tie to begin game three, the Lady Cats exploded to go on a 12-6 run and eventually lead by as many as 11 points with the score 22-11. The Mountaineers brought the score to within seven points at 26-19, but Western pulled away again on a kill by Michelle Gorton and eventually took the game after a service error by Starla Gustafson.

WCU went on a 5-0 run to start game four, but App State would not go away. The Mountaineers brought the score to within one point at 11-10. The Catamounts would not give up the lead, though, and went on to win game four and the match on a kill by Komosinski.

Komosinski led the Cats with 16 kills and six blocks. She also added five digs. Shari Harder posted 46 assists, breaking the 800 mark for the season, standing at 835. Alex Arendell led the team with 17 digs.

Katherine Dean led the Mountaineers with 18 kills and 40 attacks, adding four blocks. Gustafson had 50 assists and 10 digs. Finch led ASU with 13 digs for the match.

The Catamounts step out of league play as they travel to Asheville to take on the Bulldogs Tuesday (Oct. 22) at 7 pm. App State hosts Georgia Southern Saturday (Oct. 26) at 7 pm.