Volleyball Southern Conference

Thursday's Volleybally Results

Liberty 3, UNC Greensboro 0

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Returning from an eight-day hiatus, the Lady Flames got back in gear for this weekend's key Big South Conference matches by downing visiting UNC Greensboro, 3-0 (30-21, 30-19, 30-21), Thursday evening, in the Vines Center.

Blocking proved to be the key in the first game as a block solo by Janell Migeot (5-11, So., Mission Viejo, Calif.) followed by block assists by Becky Rudnick (6-1, Jr., Chicago, Ill.) and Jennifer Belk (5-10, Jr., Leander, Texas) keys a seven-point run in the Lady Flames' opening-game victory.

After trading the first 10 points of Game Two, the Lady Flames recorded 12 of the contest's next 16 points to seal the next game's victory, in which Liberty (15-10, 6-1 Big South) finished with an impressive .317 hitting percentage.

The final game proved to be similar to the first two games as the two teams swapped points to open the game as the score was tied at 9-9, only to see the Lady Flames reel off nine of the next 11 points to finish off the non-conference victory.

Belk and Erin McKeown (5-8, Sr., Glendale, Ariz.) led the Lady Flames with 11 and 10 kills, respectfully, while McKeown finished with a .300 hitting percentage. Migeot finished with a game-high 11 digs, while adding a match-best .545 hitting percentage and eight assists. Katie Smith (5-9, Fr., Litchfield, Ariz.) finished with a team-high 22 assists.

UNC Greensboro (7-19, 3-10 SoCon) was paced by Lori Collins (5-9, So., Kelling, Va.) and Lauren Richards (6-0, So., Hagerstown, Md.) as both finished with a team-best six kills, while Kim Dayton (5-9, Sr., Fayetteville, N.C.) led the squad with nine digs. Stephanie Elbe (5-10, Fr., Neenah, Wis.) finished with a match-high 23 assists.

The Lady Flames will take to the road for the remainder of the weekend as they travel to Rock Hill, S.C., for a Friday night match-up with Winthrop, who is currently tied for second place in the league's standings, while finishing up the weekend at High Point on Saturday. The Winthrop-Liberty match is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. in the Winthrop Coliseum.


Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 1

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Seniors Jody Steinberger and Kari Krouse combined for
33 kills and 37 digs as Chattanooga took a wild, four-game Southern
Conference volleyball match from Western Carolina Thursday night at
Maclellan Gym 24-30, 30-22, 30-15, 35-33.

Steinberger picked up 18 kills and 11 digs, while Krouse hammered down 15
kills to go with 26 digs for Chattanooga (13-12 overall, 8-5 SoCon).
Lindsey Galloway, who saw her first action in about a month, picked up a
season-high 24 digs at libero. Rachel Beard's 52 assists were a career-best
for the freshman. Another freshman, Amanda Durfee, had 10 kills and nine digs.

Kellyn Thaut led a revamped Western Carolina lineup with 19 kills, while
Sara Komosinski had 13 kills and Michelle Gorton 11. Shari Harder had 21
digs and 15 assists, while Meghan Boyle had 20 digs and 37 assists. Thaut
picked up 19 digs.

Western Carolina (13-13, 5-7) roared to an 8-1 lead in the opening game and
it later led by nine points before UTC stormed back. The Lady Mocs got
within three points, but WCU held on. Thaut had seven kills in the opening
game and Boyle 11 digs.

UTC returned the favor in game two behind Steinberger's six kills and four
by Liz Inskeep. WCU led 16-15 before UTC scored six straight points behind
Inskeep's serving, and the Lady Mocs pulled away late.

The Lady Mocs waltzed to a 15-point win in the third game as Krouse and
Kelly Ramsay combined for nine kills.

The fourth game appeared to be going WCU's way when the Cats forged a 27-24
lead, but Chattanooga crawled back. The Cats served for game point on three
occasions, but UTC answered each time. The Lady Mocs were gunning for match
point on two occasions before making it stick with Krouse serving. WCU's
Thaut had nine kills in the fourth game and UTC's Durfee had seven kills.

The Lady Mocs are back in action Sunday afternoon in another key North
Division confrontation when division leader Appalachian State visits
Maclellan Gym for a 2 p.m. match.