Volleyball Southern Conference

Friday's Volleyball Results (Sept. 19)

South Florida 3, Western Carolina 0

Atlanta, Ga. - Western Carolina fought hard in the first two games, but South Florida took control in the third to defeat the Catamounts, 30-22, 30-25, 30-19, in WCU?s first match of the Georgia Tech Invitational Friday. The Lady Cats suffered their first loss in the last eight matches and now carry a 7-4 overall record. USF improved to 6-6 with the win.

Western was led by freshman Kellyn Thaut with 10 kills and nine digs on the night. Senior Sara Komosinski attacked well for the Cats with a .235 hitting percentage on seven kills, three errors and 17 total attacks. She added a team-high four blocks in the match. SoCon Player of the Week Shari Harder dished out 22 assists in the contest, adding three kills, an ace, five digs and three blocks.

The Bulls were led by junior Shameka Mitchell who posted a match-high 16 kills on 28 attacks with five errors for a .393 hitting percentage. She additionally contributed three service aces, six digs and three blocks. Senior Bonnye Glover hit well for USF with six kills and only one error on 12 attempts for a .417 hitting percentage. She also led the team with a match-high five blocks.

While neither team hit well in the first two games, the Bulls dominated in the third, hitting .417 as a team. The two teams nearly mirrored each other in digs, with WCU tallying 33 and USF posting 34. South Florida had just a slight edge in blocking with nine team blocks to Western?s eight.

The Catamounts continue tournament action Saturday morning against the host school, Georgia Tech, at 10 am, then face Wisconsin at 2 pm before heading back to Cullowhee.


Clemson 3, East Tennessee State 0

Clemson, S.C. (Sept. 19, 2003) - East Tennessee State volleyball was no match for Clemson, host of the 2003 Clemson Invitational, as the Tigers swept ETSU, 30-16, 30-14, 30-15 in front of nearly 800 fans at Jervey Gym Friday night.

"Clemson is a very talented team," said ETSU's first-year head coach Lindsey Devine. "They are tall, fast, disciplined, and they have great ball control. We did the best we could, but we were simply overmatched and oversized."

The Tigers (9-5), who won their sixth straight match, made just eight attack errors on the evening and finished with a team attack percentage of .551, which ranks second on Clemson's all-time list for best hitting percentage in a match. Leslie Finn and Lori Ashton tallied 17 and 14 kills, respectively, while Ashton hit .667 on a total of 18 attacks.
The Tigers also served up a total of seven aces.

"I've told our players that playing teams like Clemson is only going to make us better," said Devine. "We are a stronger and smarter team than we were at the beginning of the season. I don't know if they see that yet, but playing high-caliber teams has improved our game."

Freshman Kelsey Sherich (Ogallala, Neb.) led the Buccaneers for the second consecutive match with 12 kills. As a team ETSU registered just 26 assists with sophomore Kristi Robinson's (Knoxville, Tenn.) 14 assists leading the way.

On Saturday the Buccaneers, who fall to 1-10 this season, will wrap up the tournament by taking on Illinois-Chicago (5-7) at 10 a.m. and Charleston Southern (9-3) at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free to the public.


Rutgers 3, Furman 0

ATHENS, Georgia - The Furman volleyball team fell to 5-7 on the season Friday night, when they dropped a 30-28, 30-19, 30-14 decision to Rutgers
University at the University of Georgia Invitational.

Freshman Liz Hilliker led the Lady Paladin attack, totaling eight kills with a .318 hitting percentage. Setter Molly Rybak topped the defensive effort with nine digs, while also managing a team-high 21 assists.

Rutgers was led by Shayla Bush, who scored 18 kills on the night, and Addie Thiry, who added 10.
The Lady Paladins will face Georgia and Florida A&M on Saturday.

Rutgers def. Furman 30-28, 30-19, 30-14


Auburn 3, Elon 0

AUBURN, Ala. * The Auburn volleyball extended its winning streak to seven straight as the Tigers knocked off Elon, 3-0 (30-24, 30-15, 30-15), at the Student Activities Center on Friday night. The win moved AU to 7-3 on the season while Elon fell to 4-8.

The Tigers were led offensively by Camila Lago and Ashley Cox, both of whom finished with nine kills. Lago and Bailey Veit each added 11 digs, with Veit putting down seven kills as well. The Tigers finished with 10 team blocks.

"In game one, Elon forced up to compete," AU Coach Laura Farina said. "That challenged us to come back and fight."

The Tigers took a tight-knit game one, 30-24, as Lago put down four kills. After jumping on top 8-4, the Phoenix clawed there way back, knotting the game at 11-11. Neither team could forge a larger lead than two points, going back-and-forth up until a 22-22 tie. A kill by Cox broke the tie and pushed the Tigers to their final run to the game one victory.

The Tigers put themselves up 2-0 with a 30-15 victory in game two. Cox led the offensive attack in game two, collecting four kills. After trading points back-and-forth up until a 10-10 tie, Ashlee Johns put down kills on two of the next three plays as the Tigers raced out to the game-two victory.

The Tigers closed out the match with another 30-15 victory in game three. AU never allowed Elon to get any momentum going at any point in the game, challenging every Elon attack and only letting the Phoenix score consecutive points twice.


South Alabama 3, Wofford 1
Wofford 3, Troy State 2

With a five game victory against Troy State in its second match of the day, the Wofford Lady Terrier volleyball team snapped a five match losing streak on day one of the Birmingham-Southern Tournament. Earlier in the day, Wofford dropped a four game decision to South Alabama.

Against Troy State, junior outside hitter Andrea Duke plastered the Trojans with 19 kills, 82 total attacks, 20 digs and 22.5 points to pace all players. Junior middle blocker Katie Laser finished with 44 total attacks and 17.0 points, while sophomore middle blocker Angela Berry posted 26 total attacks and 13.0 points. Sophomore setter Rhea deJesus notched 37 assists as the Lady Terriers won the match by scores of 24-30, 30-28, 30-28, 14-30, 15-12.

Earlier, against South Alabama, Duke again was the top offensive player for Wofford, as she registered 22 kills, 68 total attacks, three
service aces, 16 digs and 25.0 points to pace the Lady Terriers in each category. After taking game one, 30-27, Wofford dropped the next three games by scores of 26-30, 26-30, 27-30.

Duke passed the 200 kill mark for the season in the Troy State match with a season total of 201 and carries an average of 5.29 pergame.

Wofford improves to 4-6 with the victory over the Trojans, while Troy State stands at 6-3 and South Alabama is 3-6. The Lady Terriers will wrap up play in the tournament with another pair of matches Saturday. At 9 a.m., Wofford will face Conference USA foe Memphis before tangling with the host Panthers of Birmingham-Southern in the
tournament's final match at 7 p.m.


Tennessee Tech 3, UNC Greensboro 1
Georgia State 3, UNC Greensboro 1

Greensboro, NC - In day one action from the 2003 UNCG Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Invitational, the UNC Greensboro Spartans dropped two hard fought matches to Tennessee Tech, 3-1, and Georgia State, 3-1, Friday in Fleming Gym. The Spartans are now 3-6 on the year heading into day two of tournament play.

In the last match of the evening, UNCG opened the match playing inspired volleyball as they clawed their way to a 15-12 lead midway through game one on a kill by Kim Dayton. The Spartans then pushed the lead to 25-21 before Georgia State rallied to take the lead at 30-29. The Spartans, however, refused to fold, tieing the score at 30-30 on a kill by LaJean Morrow. Abbi Meyer recorded a service ace to put the Spartans back on top 31-30 and another kill by Morrow ended the game.

Georgia State bounced back in game two and three for 30-15 and 30-26 wins, respectively. Facing elimination in game four UNCG once again jumped out to an early lead, feeding off the enthusiastic home crowd. A service ace by Lauren Richards put the Spartans on top 15-12, but the Panthers rallied to take the game, 30-25.

"Obviously we came out fired up tonight in front of our home crowd," said head coach Stacy Meadows-Kosciak. "Volleyball is very much a mental game and right now we are trying to level out the peak and valleys and try to be consistent with our play. I think tonight was a big step in consistently playing from point one to point 30."

Morrow posted 16 kills to lead UNCG, while Hilary Overby added 10 kills and seven digs. Adrian Hicks recorded 45 assists to pace the Spartan attack. Shelbylynn McBride tallied 16 kills to lead Georgia State, while Molly Sapp added 15.
In earlier action, UNCG fell to Tennessee Tech, 3-1. The two teams traded points during the early stages of game one before UNCG was able take a 19-15 lead on an Overby kill. A kill by Annette Kupka pulled the Golden Eagles into a 27-27 tie with UNCG. From that point, Tennessee Tech went on a 6-4 run to take the game, 33-31.

UNCG rallied in game two for a 30-27 win. The Spartans opened up an early 6-2 advantage and never looked back en route to the victory. In game two, UNCG out hit the Golden Eagles .140 to .135. Tennessee Tech regrouped and wrestled away games three and four with scores of 30-25 and 30-14, respectively.

Abbi Meyer led the way for UNCG with 13 kills, while Morrow posted 12. Dayton spearheaded the Spartan defensive effort with 16 digs. Laura Sidrowicz tallied a game-high 25 kills to lead the way for Tennessee Tech .

The 2003 UNCG Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Invitational will continue on Saturday, September 20 with games beginning at 10am.


UAB 3, Georgia Southern 1
Alabama 3, Georgia Southern 2

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Georgia Southern dropped a pair of matches to begin the Crimson Tide Invitational on Friday. In the first match of the tournament, the Eagles fell to UAB in four games, 33-31, 22-30, 30-28, 31-29. Later, in the evening session, the Eagles lost a hard fought battle to tournament host Alabama in five games, 22-30, 24-30, 30-20, 30-24, 15-12.

Leading the way for the Eagles was senior Martina Veiglova, who had 21 kills and 14 digs, in the first match, and 14 kills and 16 digs in the evening match. Defensively for the Eagles were Jessica Lippi and Susan Winkelman, who had 51 and 43 assists on the day, respectively.

Alabama was led by Erin Heffner and Jennifer Bibber, who combined for 31 kills and 20 digs. Defensively, Erin Price led the way with a match high 49 assists.

Georgia Southern (5-7) hit a combined .195 in the first match and a .248 in the second match, while Alabama-Birmingham (5-7) hit .203 for the match and Alabama hit a .198 in the evening session.

For the Blazers, Martina Shields had 21 kills and 15 digs, while Karen Boyd had 11 kills. Defensively, Bilun Gunal had 57 assists.

The Eagles return to action Saturday, as they face Jacksonville State at 4:30 p.m.


Davidson 3, Gardner-Webb 0
Davidson 3, Boise State 2

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Four of senior Latisha Chapman's match-high 25 kills came at the end of game five and helped the Davidson volleyball team survive a thriller over visiting Boise State, 30-17, 30-22, 23-30, 30-32 and 15-13, Friday evening in the National Invitational. Four other matches were competed on Friday highlighted by Virginia winning both its matches to remain undefeated at 14-0.

Davidson (6-6) held a commanding two-game lead on Boise State (2-10) in the nightcap of Friday's action, but the Broncos used a 10-2 run late in game three to pull away from the Wildcats and force a fourth game. Down the stretch in game four, there were ties at 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 before Boise State swiped two consecutive points to level the match at two games apiece.

The deciding game went back and forth until Davidson managed to win three straight points to pull ahead, 13-10. From there, the Broncos fought back with back-to-back kills to get within one point at 13-12. However, a Chapman kill finally pushed Davidson to match point. Following a service error by the 'Cats, Chapman ended the contest with another kill.

Freshman Jenna Dykstra and the rest of the Wildcats picked up two wins on Friday.Three Wildcats finished with double-doubles in the victory - freshman Jenna Dykstra (11 kills, 12 digs), junior Meredith Lorenz (10, 11) and senior Nicole Tonelli (50 assists, 20 digs). Christina Moore led the Bronco attack with 15 kills and a .467 hitting percentage.

In other action, Virginia can still keep its claim as one of just eight undefeated Division I volleyball teams after downing both Boise State and High Point in three games. Paige Davis paced the Wahoos with 27 kills in the two contests and a .571 attack percentage.

High Point (4-11) did pick up a win later in the day when the Panthers swept Gardner-Webb (5-10), 30-18, 30-27 and 30-8. Four players finished with attack percentages of .400 or better for High Point including Heather Brooks (13 kills, .524) and Sabrina Wahid (8 kills, .500).

In Davidson's first match of the day, the Wildcats cruised to a three-game win over Gardner-Webb. Chapman paced Davidson with 19 kills on a .516 attack percentage. Freshman Jenny Mills chipped in with seven putaways while sophomore Erin Balak and Dykstra led the defensive effort with nine digs apiece.

Play concludes in the National Invitational tomorrow, Sept. 20, with Davidson and Virginia as the featured match at 8 p.m. Five matches are scheduled in all with the first contest slated to start at 10 a.m.


Middle Tennessee State 3, Appalachian State 0

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee volleyball evened their record to 6-6 with a 3-0 (30-20, 30-15, 30-16) win over Appalachian State (2-8) in opening action of the MT Invitational in Alumni Memorial Gym Friday.

Errors played a key factor in the match as Appalachian State committed 29 miscues in contrast to the Lady Raider's 10. Middle Tennessee also recorded a season high .344 attack percentage and recorded 42 kills in the match with the Mountaineers only garnering 22.
Juniors KeKe Deckard and Dara McLean each recorded 11 kills in the match. Deckard also led the team in digs with nine.

Junior setter Goldie Bilyeu saw action for the first time this season and notched 15 assists. Freshman Megan Sumrell led the team with 19 assists.

The Lady Raiders held Appalachian State in check as none of their players recorded double figure kills and four had negative attack percentages. Overall the Mountaineers had a negative .075 attack percentage.

Middle Tennessee continues action in the MT Invitational on Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. match-up with Western Illinois. Action begins at 10 a.m. in Alumni Memorial Gym and continues all day.