Western Carolina 3, UNC Greensboro 0
Cullowhee, N.C. - Behind the double-figure kill games by sophomore Meredith Harmon and senior Ellie Talbot, the Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team earned its first three-game sweep of the season, defeating UNC Greensboro in straight sets, 3-0 (30-26, 30-21, 30-22) Sunday afternoon in the Ramsey Center.
The win evens Western's record in the SoCon at 5-5, 6-16 overall, while UNCG dropped to 2-18 overall, 1-9 in league play.
"It was great to be able to finish a match off after taking an early 2-0 lead," said first-year head coach, Stephanie Dragan. "We have had the opportunity to do so in previous matches, but could not dig deep to win in three. We tried a few different things today - some worked and some did not - but the key is that we earned the win and will look to carry that momentum on the road to Chattanooga."
Harmon led the Catamount offense, finishing with a team-high 16 kills - six alone in the decisive game three - on 20 total attacks, while committing a single error for the .750 attack percentage. Harmon added a solo block and two assists in the win. Talbot recorded the lone double-double for Western, killing 13 and finishing with 10 digs and two block assists.
The Cats used two setters during the match, with classmates Meghan Boyle and Kate Willard splitting time dishing out assists. Boyle finished with 24 assists, adding eight digs, while Willard, who started the match as the libero, handed out 10 assists with nine digs.
Western started the day well, racing to a 7-0 advantage forcing the Spartans to take an early timeout. The pep talk worked as UNCG rallied to tie the match at nine, then take a 10-9 advantage. The two battled back-and-forth until the Catamounts broke a 26-all tie by scoring four consecutive points, two off Harmon kills, to take the 1-0 match lead.
Capitalizing on UNCG errors, WCU again went ahead early in the second game, taking a 7-1 lead. The Catamounts were able to stretch the advantage to 17-7, scoring four consecutive points off the serve of sophomore Danielle Spitzer. Western was able to finish off the game, 30-21.
Western seized control of the see-saw game three, tallying four-straight points to turn an 18-16 lead to a 23-16 advantage. The Catamounts were able to close out the match with a 30-22 win, finishing it off with Neumann service ace.
UNC Greensboro was led by sophomore Lauren Keiser with 18 kills on a .395 attack percentage while senior Lauren Richards finished with eight. Senior Adrian Hicks dished out 33 assists, while junior Christin Heverly recorded 12 digs.
Western Carolina returns to action on Tuesday evening, traveling to Chattanooga to battle the Lady Mocs at 7:00 pm. The Catamounts defeated Chattanooga in five games back on September 27 in Cullowhee. UNC Greensboro is idle next week, taking the floor next Saturday, Oct. 22 as the Spartans visit Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga., for a 7:00 pm match.
Furman 3, Davidson 1
Greenville, S.C. - Furman rallied from a 1-0 deficit to down the Davidson Wildcats 18-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-26 in Southern Conference volleyball action on Sunday afternoon at Alley Gym.
Chibuzo Aguocha led four Lady Paladins in double figure kills with 22 while adding 11 digs. Whitney Purser totaled 17 kills, Ally Hock notched 15 kills and Kerry Wooten contributed 10 kills to the effort.
Davidson hit .419 in game one while suffering just one attacking error to jump out to the early lead. Furman, who hit .079 and made 11 attacking errors in game one, totaled just 13 errors in the final three games combined.
Wooten led Furman by hitting .364 while the Lady Paladins hit .258 as a team. Furman recorded eight blocks, including two solos from Aguocha and Wooten. Libero Kim Tonkin tallied a match-high 15 digs and setter Courtney Stewardson totaled a match-high 50 assists.
Davidson was led by Katie pierucci's 16 kills and .448 hitting percentage. Liz WIlliamson and Kittery Neale contributed 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Neale added one solo block and eight block assists for the Wildcats who recorded 15 total blocks. Lindsey Woeste paced Davidson with 12 digs.
Furman, 8-12 overall and 4-6 in SoCon play, returns to action Friday when it trave;s to the College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. match. Davidson, 9-13 overall and 5-3 in league play, hosts Western Carolina on October 22.
Appalachian State 3, Wofford 0
Appalachian State rallied in game one and then turned up the tempo in games two and three to garner a 3-0 sweep over the Wofford volleyball team Sunday afternoon in the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The Mountaineers captured the match by scores of 30-25, 30-21 and 30-20.
After trailing early, ASU rebounded to take game one on the strength of a blocking performance. The Mountaineers finished the match with 14.0 total blocks, including five solo stops.
Stefanie Panzer and Dianna Thomas led the visitors with nine kills apiece. Thomas hit .500 with just one error on 16 total attacks and Panzer finished with a .400 hitting percentage with just three errors on 15 total attacks while adding three solo blocks.
Setter Lorelle Rau led Appalachian (13-7, 6-2 SoCon) with a .625 hitting percentage on six total attacks, one error and eight total attacks. She tallied a match-high four service aces and tied Terrier setter Rhea DeJesus with 28 assists.
Kali Rumberger dug a match-high 15 digs for the Mountaineers.
Wofford was led by nine kills from freshman Liz Sheets. Classmate Brittany Thompson, a SoCon Freshman of the Year candidate, did not play due to injury.
Senior Angela Berry added eight kills and Katie Sobczyk and Christal Carey each contributed seven kills to the Terrier attack.
DeJesus posted a team-high two assists and had one of the solo blocks. The other Wofford (9-10, 4-6 SoCon) solo stop came from Sheets.
The Terriers will resume their season at Southern Conference-leading College of Charleston at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Appalachian State 3, Wofford 0
30-25, 30-21, 30-20
Team Comparison:
Kills -- Appalachian State 39, Wofford 38
Total Attacks -- Wofford 123, Appalachian State 102
Hitting Percentage -- Appalachian State .245, Wofford .098
Assists -- Wofford 36, Appalachian State 31
Service Aces -- Appalachian State 9, Wofford 3
Digs -- Appalachian State 49, Wofford 43
Total Blocks -- Appalachian State 14.0, Wofford 4.0
Points -- Appalachian State 62.0, Wofford 45.0