Volleyball Southern Conference

Saturday's Volleyball Results (Sept. 13)

Western Carolina 3, UAB 0
Western Carolina 3, South Alabama 1

Birmingham, Ala. - The Catamount volleyball team continued their winning ways early Saturday morning as Western Carolina plowed through Alabama-Birmingham, 30-25, 30-25, 30-16, at the Union State Bank/Samford Invitational. The win gave WCU a 5-3 record, while UAB dropped to 2-7.

Freshman Kellyn Thaut led the Cats with 11 kills in the match on 28 total attacks. She added 12 digs on the defensive end along with teammate Ellie Talbot, who also had 12. Senior Sara Komosinski posted a game-high 14.5 points on nine kills, a team-high three aces and four blocks (one solo, three assisted).

While both teams posted six team blocks, Western out-hit the Blazers .222 to .032 and recorded more assists (40-26) as well as more digs (54-43). The Catamounts held UAB to a -.294 hitting percentage in the third game to claim the victory.

Birmingham, Ala. - Western Carolina defeated South Alabama, 28-30, 30-19, 30-22, 30-15, to win the Union State Bank/Samford Invitational Saturday night. The Catamounts are now 6-3 on the season and have won their second straight tournament of the year.

WCU (6-3) was led by tournament MVP Shari Harder
who had her second triple double of the tournament with 10 kills, 36 assists, and 20 digs in the Catamounts win over South Alabama. Kellyn Thaut, who also earned all-tournament honors, and Sara Komosinski each had 12 kills as WCU took games two, three, and four after dropping the opener.

"We played very well throughout the whole weekend and I'm very proud of this team," head coach Angell Benson said. "Like I said last weekend, everything is coming together the way we need it to right now, and things have turned in the right direction for us. Our girls have done an outstanding job."

Western returns to Cullowhee to host region rival UNC Asheville Tuesday night, Sept. 16, at 7 pm in the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts lead that series, 20-13, and have won the last five straight meetings between the two schools.



College of Charleston 3, Morgan State 0

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland women's volleyball team clinched championship honors at the Terrapin Invitational on Saturday by defeating Virginia Tech, 3-0 (30-22, 30-24, 30-23), in Comcast Center Gymnasium. The Terps, now 8-2, have won seven straight matches and two consecutive tournament titles.

College of Charleston finished second behind the Terrapins, while Virginia Tech (5-6) was third and Morgan State was fourth at the Terrapin Invitational.

Senior right side hitter Lynnsy Jones (Castro Valley, Calif.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and junior Aimee Huddleston (Keller, Texas) and sophomore Stephanie Smith (Bethesda, Md.) earned all-tournament honors. Jones had 11 kills, hit .476 and posted four aces to lead Maryland to the three-game victory.

Huddleston gave out 37 assists and notched four kills, six digs and five blocks in an all-around solid effort, while Smith contributed nine kills and hit .438.

Senior outside hitter Maria DiLivio (Hamilton, Ontario) had a team-high 12 kills against the Hokies. Virginia Tech was led by all-tournament selection Annie Spicer, who had 14 kills and 14 digs.

In earlier action from the final day of the tournament, College of Charleston (5-4) defeated Morgan State (2-9) in three games, 30-18, 30-13, 30-14. Leading the Cougars were all-tournament selections Stephanie Ballard and Rebecca Wieters with 17 and five kills, respectively.

Maryland is back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when they host George Mason University in a match-up of local teams. That match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Comcast Center Gymnasium.


Coastal Carolina 3, Wofford 0
Clemson 3, Wofford 0

The Wofford Lady Terrier volleyball team dropped its two matches Saturday afternoon at the Coastal Carolina Classic to the host Chanticleers and Clemson. In the first match, the Lady Terriers fell 30-22, 30-12, 30-19 to Coastal Carolina, before being defeated by the Tigers.

Against the Chanticleers, junior outside hitter Andrea Duke continued to post the top numbers on the team as she paced the squad with 13 kills, 46 total attacks, 13 digs and 14 points. Sophomore right side player Katie Sobczyk registered 10 kills, 30 total attacks and 11 points for the Lady Terriers.

Wofford battled Clemson hard in the first game only to lose 30-27 before dropping games two, 30-15, and three, 30-19. Once again, Duke was the top performer for the Lady Terriers as she notched 18 kills, 42 total attacks, four service aces, 10 digs and 22 points. Sobczyk continued to play well against the Tigers, recording 12 kills and 21 total attacks for a .476 hitting percentage.

With the two losses, Wofford falls to 3-4 on the season and will next open up its Southern Conference slate with a home matchup against Furman. The match against the Lady Paladins is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena.


Furman 3, Harvard 2

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- The Furman volleyball team improved to 4-5 on the year Saturday with a 28-30, 30-26, 30-22, 27-30, 15-9 victory over Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.

Furman freshman Whitney Purser recorded 22 kills to lead the Lady Paladin offense, while Julia Fredrickson and Amber Montague each added 16 and Caitlin White contributed 13. Montague also put forth a strong defensive effort, digging 20 balls and totaling four blocks in the five-game match, while White topped the Lady Paladins with six blocks assists.

The Lady Paladin setting corps combined for 68 of 71 assists, with Michelle Cauldwell totaling 32 and Molly Rybak earning 32.



Tennessee 3, East Tennessee State 0
Cal State Fullerton 3, East Tennessee State 0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 13, 2003) - The East Tennessee State volleyball team was swept by Tennessee and Cal State Fullerton in day two of the Toyota of Knoxville Lady Vol Classic.

The hosting Lady Vols defeated the Bucs in three straight games (30-16, 30-25, 30-21) as did Cal State Fullerton (30-19, 30-24, 30-24).

In the match against Tennessee, senior outside hitter Kate Steidle (Waynesboro, Va.) led the team with 11 kills, while middle blocker Lissa Allen (Palm Bay, Fla.) led the Bucs with 12 kills in the second match.

Sophomore Kristi Robinson (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the Bucs in assists in both matches recording 34 assists against the Lady Vols and 31 against the Titans.
"We had good games today," commented head coach Lindsey Devine. "The scores are not an indication of how well we played. We are continuing to play a disciplined game and the girls are starting to string the points together like they should."

The Buccaneers will now travel to face Chattanooga for their first Southern Conference action of the season on Thursday, September 17. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.


Louisiana Monroe 3, UNC Greensboro 0

Macon, GA - Senior LaJean Morrow recorded nine kills and four digs, but it was not enough to pull UNC Greensboro past Louisiana Monroe in college volleyball action, Saturday, from the Mercer Invitational Volleyball Tournament. With the 3-0 loss, the Spartans move to 3-4 overall as they prepare for the UNCG Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Invitational which begins Friday, September 19.

The Lady Indians opened the match strong taking a 30-11 victory in game one. Louisiana-Monroe posted a .429 hitting percentage for the game led by Loretta Sanchez who tallied a match-high 13 kills.

The Spartans regrouped in games two and three, nearly taking down the Lady Indians. Hilary Overby and Kim Dayton combined for 10 kills during the match to keep the Spartans close, but Louisiana-Monroe eventually earned the remaining two games with scores of 30-23 and 30-25, respectively.

For her efforts, Morrow was named to the 2003 Mercer Classic All-Tournament Team after posting 47 kills and 29 digs during the two-day three match event. Freshman Stephanie Elbe set a career-high in the tournament finale with 20 assists.

The Spartans will open play in the 2003 UNCG Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Invitational on September 19 versus Tennessee Tech at 1pm.


SMU 3, Chattanooga 0
Stephen F. Austin 3, Chattanooga 0

DALLAS -- Chattanooga's volleyball team dropped a pair of three-game matches Saturday afternoon in the SMU Invitational. UTC lost 30-26, 30-17, 30-18 to the host Mustangs and then fell 30-23, 30-25, 30-18 to Stephen F. Austin.

Against SMU, Jody Steinberger led the way with eight kills and Julie Buck had six. UTC played well defensively with 53 digs, 18 by Dominique Mayor, 11 by Amanda Durfee and 10 by Kari Krouse. Emily McGinnis picked up 23 set assists, while Buck was in on three blocks.

Krouse led the way against Stephen F. Austin with 10 kills, 11 digs and a pair of aces. Mayor picked up 17 digs and Emily McGinnis added 11 digs and 17 set assists.

The Lady Mocs begin Southern Conference action Wednesday when East Tennessee State visits Maclellan Gym for a 7 p.m. contest.



Morehead State 3, Elon 0

ELON, NC-- The Elon volleyball team falls to 2-7 on the season after a loss to Morehead State in the second day of the Liberty Invitational at Liberty University. Elon lost to the Eagles 3-0 (30-21, 30-16, 30-25).

Elon was paced by outside hitter Emily Hayes who had nine kills. Maria LaBrutto and Juliena Gigon each added seven kills. Kate Hart posted 25 assists. The defense was led by Mary Kate Spear (11 digs) and Gigon (nine digs). Elon continues to struggle with hitting percentage finishing the match with a .093 percentage.

The Eagles were led by Jennifer Kennedy with 12 kills. Defensively, Cherelle Lampkins posted 22 digs and Casie Garland added 18.


Georgia Southern 3, Buffalo 0
Central Florida 3, Georgia Southern 0

ORLANDO, Fla..- Georgia Southern (5-5) came out strong in the second and final day of the UCF Fall Invitational. The Eagles downed Buffalo in three games, 30-21, 30-21, 30-26, for their second win of the weekend.

The Eagles could not produce a second win on the day, however, as they fell to tournament host Central Florida in three games, 26-30, 24-30, 24-30.

Against the Golden Knights, Martina Veiglova recorded her third double-double of the week, with 17 kills and 13 digs.

UCF's Emily Watts also recorded a double-double on the night, with 19 kills and 11 digs. The Golden Knights hit .305 for the match, while the Eagles only hit a .186.

In the first match of the day, the Eagles were led by Martina Veiglova's 22 kills and eight digs and Kristen Kasprak's ten kills. Defensively, Megan Lippi and Susan Winkelman added a combined 34 digs.

Buffalo (4-5) was led by Lindsay Matikosh's 11 kills and Molly Schrantz's ten digs.
The Eagles return to action on Friday, September 19, when they will face Alabama-Birmingham in the first match of the Crimson Tide Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Match time is set for 10:00 a.m.


Jacksonville State 3, Davidson 2

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - For the second time in three matches at the Jacksonville State Invitational, the Davidson volleyball team endured a five-game battle. And for the second straight time the Wildcats came up a bit short, this time to host Jacksonville State by a count of 31-29, 19-30, 30-24, 24-30 and 15-10. This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Four players finished with double figure kills for Davidson, but it wasn't enough as Jacksonville State (6-2) held the Wildcats to just five kills and a .000 attack percentage in the decisive game. Senior Latisha Chapman recorded a match-high 27 putaways to pace the 'Cats while junior Meredith Lorenz (11 kills) and freshmen Jenna Dykstra (12) and Jenny Mills (10) each tallied at least 10 kills.

Chapman along with fellow senior Nicole Tonelli, who had 50 assists versus Jacksonville State, were named to the all-tournament team.

Davidson (4-6) returns home to host the National Invitational Tournament next weekend, Sept. 19 and 20. High Point, Gardner-Webb, Boise State and Virginia are slated to compete in the five-team tourney.