#4 Chattanooga 3, #5 Davidson 2 (24-30, 30-23, 26-30, 32-30, 15-10)
STATESBORO, GA ? Led by All-SoCon performer Lindsey Galloway’s 19 kills and 18 digs, the Chattanooga Mocs advanced to the semifinals of the 2005 Southern Conference Volleyball Championships with a 3-2 win over the Davidson Wildcats at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.
Chattanooga (19-13, 12-6) fought back from a 2-1 disadvantage in the match to tally the victory, ending the match with a 15-10 game five win over Davidson (15-18, 11-7).
The match also featured a new conference record being set, as Chattanooga’s Lara Newberry broke the season digs record in the SoCon, becoming the first women in SoCon Volleyball history to chalk up 700 digs in a season.
The 2005 Freshman and Libero of the Year, Newberry picked up 27 digs in the win over Davidson to finish the day with 720 kills on the season.
Both teams stepped out of the box strongly, exchanging points for most of the first game before Davidson led by Katie Pierucci’s four kills and five digs went on a late run in the game to commandeer a 30-24 win. Pierruci finished her efforts on the day with 18 kills and 17 digs.
In game two, the teams fought neck and neck for the vast assortment of the contest. In fact, the game was squared at 16-16 at one point before the Mocs matriculated some breathing room, eventually winning 30-23 to even the match at one game each.
The Davidson Wildcats placed themselves in the right position in game three, winning 30-26 on the back of Lindsey Woeste who was stout all morning for the Wildcats, ending the match with 27 digs.
Game four started out just as tight as the other three, but with the game tied at 11-11 the Mocs went on a spurt, scoring the next seven points to go ahead 18-11. The Mocs acquired another seven-point advantage in game four, but allowed the Wildcats to mount a comeback and tie the game at 28-28.
The game remained even at 30-30, but the Mocs were able to obtain two straight points capped off by Kelly Ramsay’s deft placement of the volleyball in the left corner of the Hanner Fieldhouse court to force a deciding game five.
The Mocs advance to the semifinals where they will take the court against the top-seeded College of Charleston. The semifinal will commence at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
#1 College of Charleston 3, #8 Wofford 0 (30-15, 30-22, 30-18)
STATESBORO, GA ? Top-seeded College of Charleston made sure in their SoCon tourney opener against eighth-seeded Wofford that they would not take their unfazed league record for granted, downing the Terriers 3-0 at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.
It was a total team effort on the afternoon for Charleston. Two All-SoCon honorees were of note, as Tiffany Blum finished the match with 11 kills, while 2005 SoCon Player-of-the-Year Kaycie Carr ended her efforts on Friday with 5 kills and 10 digs.
The Cougars started off strong in the first game, doubling up the Terriers 30-15.
The Terriers were able to keep things closer in the second frame, staying within striking distance for the majority of the second game, pulling to within four two different times.
The Cougars were too much though, charging forward in the latter half of the second game to take a 30-22 victory and 2-0 advantage.
Charleston made sure that they acquired another shutout victory in their third game with the Terriers, garnering a 30-18 game three win for the 3-0 shutout.
The win leaves College of Charleston (28-1, 18-0) unscathed still against SoCon teams, improving the squad to 19-0 on the season against league institutions. Wofford, who tallied their first SoCon tournament win in first round action against Elon, falls to 13-17.
College of Charleston will face fourth-seeded Chattanooga at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the first semifinal of the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship.
#2 Appalachian State 3, #7 Western Carolina 2 (24-30, 27-30, 30-16, 30-24, 15-13)
STATESBORO, GA ? The second-seeded Appalachian State Mountaineers (22-9, 14-4) erased a two-game deficit to defeat rival Western Carolina (9-25, 7-11) 3-2 in quarterfinal action at the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.
The erasure of the two games marked the first time that Appalachian had emerged victorious in 2005 after losing the first two games of a contest.
All-SoCon performer Stefanie Panzer will be credited with a great deal of the Mountaineers’ resiliency in the contest, as she finished her efforts on the evening with 20 kills and eight blocks.
The eight blocks accumulated in the contest helped Panzer pass the 500 career block mark. Panzer entered the match against Western with 497 and now has 505 to her credit.
Appalachian’s Brittany Zahn matriculated her fifth double-double of the 2005 season in the win and picked up a career-high in digs with 18.
The Catamounts fresh off their 3-0 shutout victory over the UNC Greensboro Spartans looked like the team with something to prove from the outset, capitalizing on every opportunity allotted their way in the first game of the match, winning 30-24 to take an early advantage over their rival.
Heather Koontz led the way for the Cats in the first frame, tallying four kills and six digs.
The Cats kept rolling along after the commencement of the second game, acquiring the first eight points in game two before allowing the Mountaineers to etch their name on the scoreboard.
Western owned a plethora of sizable leads in the second game. In fact, the Cats lead by an 11-point margin at one juncture in the contest.
Trying their best to not go down 2-0 in the match, the Mountaineers were able to claw their way back in the second game, pulling to within two at 28-26. The Cats were able to muster the final two points needed and went into the 10-minute intermission with a 2-0 advantage over their rivals in the quarterfinal match.
Trying to stave off elimination, Appalachian placed themselves back into the match in game three, putting together some sound runs in the process and taking a 30-16 win.
The Mountaineers continued to ride the momentum swing into the fourth game, placating once again the Cats ideas of ending Appalachian’s chances at the 2005 SoCon crown and downing the Catamounts 30-24 in game four to force a decisive game five.
Appalachian State and Western were locked for most of the fifth game, but the Mountaineers began to break away towards the end, moving on in the tourney with a game five 15-13 victory.
Appalachian moves on to the semifinal round of the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship where they will square off against sixth-seeded Furman at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
#6 Furman 3, #3 Georgia Southern 1 (29-31, 30-25, 30-22, 30-17)
STATESBORO, GA ? Furman became the first lower-seeded institution in the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship to overcome a higher seed and advance, as the Paladins bested the host Eagles 3-1 in the final quarterfinal match of the day at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.
Furman downed the Eagles 30-17 in the fourth and final game of the match to commandeer the victory.
The Paladins looked as if they were going to easily acquire the victory in game one after garnering four straight points to go up 29-25.
The Eagles led by 2005 All-SoCon honoree Iulia Porumbescu, who finished the first stanza with five kills and seven digs, would not acquiesce though, fighting back to earn a 31-29 win in the first game.
The Paladins ? in seemingly the same situation as in the first game ? showed resolve in the second game, evening the game at 1-1 after not succumbing to the Eagles advances and taking a 30-25 victory.
All-SoCon performer Whitney Purser was the catalyst for the Paladins in the second game win, ending the second game with 15 digs and four kills in total through two periods.
Furman obtained a 2-1 lead in the third game with a 30-22 win that was punctuated by Purser’s emphatic service ace to end the third game.
Purser finished the contest with 10 kills and 19 digs, while teammate Emily Harby chalked up 18 kills to her credit on 26 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .577.
Furman advances to the semifinals where they will face off against second-seeded Appalachian State at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.