#8 Wofford 3, #9 Elon 2 (23-30, 30-28, 26-30, 30-18, 15-13)

 

STATESBORO, GA ?  In a match of two teams that prior to the 2005 SoCon Women’s Volleyball Championship had never procured a tournament victory, the #8 Wofford Terriers took the victory 3-2 over the #9 Elon Phoenix in the first match of the SoCon Volleyball Championship at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.

 

Down 2-1 after three games, The Terriers busted out for the second straight game in the fifth game for a 4-0 lead and never trailed in the deciding game. The game was knotted at 11-11 before the Terriers pulled away ending Elon’s season at 9-22.

 

The Terriers and Phoenix played a tightly contested first game, with both squads exerting their will in spurts, but the Phoenix made a run towards the end of the first game and put the first stanza out of reach for the Terriers, winning 30-23.

 

Neither team could overpower the other in the second game. Both teams looked like at points that they would breakaway and take the game, but the Terriers, who led most of the way in the latter part of the second game, held on for a 30-28 win in the second match to square things at one game each.

 

The lower-seeded Phoenix once again took things into their control in the third game, squashing the Terriers’ resiliency in the final points of the game to take a 30-25 game three win.

 

Down but definitely not out, the Terriers began the fourth game with a chip on their shoulder, scoring the game’s first four points before allowing Elon after a one-minute timeout to get on the board.

 

After the torrid start in the fourth game, the Terriers never looked back in the fourth game, winning rather handily 30-18 in the fourth game to force a deciding game five.

 

The Terriers’ 30-18 advantage at the end of game four was the largest lead for either team in the entire match.

 

Brittany Thompson led the Terriers in the match with 28 kills and 25 digs, while counterpart Juliena Gigon matriculated 12 blocks for the Phoenix in the loss.

 

Wofford (12-16, 7-11) advances to the quarterfinals where they will face top-seeded College of Charleston at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Terriers will try and become the first SoCon team to down the Cougars, as Charleston ended the regular season unscathed in league play.

 

 

#7 Western Carolina 3 , #10 UNC Greensboro 0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-20)

 

STATESBORO, GA ? Three-time SoCon Volleyball Tournament champion Western Carolina shut out the UNC Greensboro Spartans 3-0 in their first round meeting to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2005 SoCon Championship at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern.

 

Heather Koontz had 13 kills for the Catamounts in the win, while UNC Greensboro’s Lauren Richards garnered 11 kills in the losing effort for the Spartans. Richards’ teammate Alysia Rosvold mustered 21 defensive digs for the Spartans.

 

The Catamounts took advantage of the few UNC Greensboro miscues in the first game to take a 1-0 lead in a 30-27 win over the Spartans.

 

The Spartans, who were able to secure only two league wins in 2005, came roaring back in the second frame, looking to even the match.

 

The Catamounts would not let it happen though, coming back from an early UNC Greensboro lead to take a 30-25 win and enter the 10-minute intermission with a sound 2-0 advantage entering the third game.

 

Western Carolina held off on their most dominating performance until the final stanza when they defeated the Spartans 30-20 to acquire the shutout.

 

The loss leaves the Spartans winless at 0-5 in SoCon Tournament play and improves the Catamounts to an even 19-19 all-time in the championship.

 

The Western Carolina (9-24, 7-11) victory moves the squad on to face rival and second-seeded Appalachian State in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Volleyball Championship. The match will commence at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Hanner Fieldhouse.

 

 

#6 Furman 3, #11 The Citadel 0 (30-24, 30-9, 30-22)

 

STATESBORO, GA ? Furman made sure that all of the higher-seeded institutions in first round play would advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championships at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University, downing The Citadel 3-0 in three straight games to advance.

 

Furman was led in the opening-round win by outside hitter Whitney Purser, who finished the contest with 12 kills and 11 digs.

 

The match was the first ever for The Citadel in the SoCon Volleyball championships.

 

Sixth-seeded Furman commandeered a solid first game in the match to take a 1-0 lead. The Lady Paladins fought off a Bulldog surge in the beginning of the game to garner the first game by a score of 30-24.

 

Furman found their groove in the second game, pulling off the biggest win by the numbers of the day in the first round of the 2005 SoCon Championship, as they rolled off a 30-9 victory in the second game of the day between the two Palmetto state rivals.

 

Furman continued to roll in the final game of the day between the two squads, ending the match with a 30-22 game three defeat of the Bulldogs.

 

The Lady Paladins outscored the Bulldogs 90-55 in three games to move on to the quarterfinals where they will take the court against third seed and host institution Georgia Southern in the nightcap at 7 p.m. on Friday at Hanner Fieldhouse.