Volleyball 9/19/2005 6:30:00 PM Southern Conference

Southern Conference Volleyball Capsules for Sept. 16-17

Western Kentucky 3, Chattanooga 0

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Western Kentucky volleyball squad improved its record to 10-1 on the season and posted its sixth consecutive win in a 30-18, 30-15, 30-21 sweep of the Lady Mocs at the Western Kentucky Invitational Friday night.

Western set the tone early and never allowed Chattanooga, 5-4, to get into the match. Megan Argabright and Jenna Gideon each posted a game-high 11 kills to lead the Hilltoppers.

UTC senior outside hitter Lindsey Galloway recorded nine kills to lead the Lady Mocs and had seven digs on the night. Chattanooga managed 29 kills and 27 digs and sophomore setter Bethany Herndon had 22 assists and three kills on three attempts.

WKU built a quick 8-0 lead in game one, but the Lady Mocs bounced back to cut the lead in half at 10-5. The Hilltoppers retook control and kept UTC on its heels the remainder of the game.

The Lady Mocs will be back in action at the WKU tournament Saturday afternoon against Kent State at 1 p.m. then take on Mercer in the closer at 5:00. Kent State swept Mercer 3-0 in the

opening game Friday.

Army 3, The Citadel 0

Air Force Academy, CO - Senior outside hitter Stefanie Farris led the Citadel (1-8, 0-2 SoCon) with nine kills and freshman Emily Hill provided 20 set assists as the Bulldogs fell to Army 3-0 (30-21, 30-20, 30-17) in Clune Arena at the Air Force Academy Friday afternoon.

Army (5-2) received 11 kills from Elizabeth Lazzari and 32 assists from Abby Casciato.

The Citadel will square off against Air Force Saturday morning at 9:30 and will then play Navy at 4:30 pm while West Point will face off against Air Force at 7:00 pm in the final match of the Armed Forces Tournament.

Winthrop 3, Davidson 0

North Texas 3, Davidson 1

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Davidson College women’s volleyball team dropped its first two games at the SpringHill Suites Classic hosted by UNC Charlotte on Friday, Sept. 16. The Wildcats opened play by falling to North Texas 3-1 (31-33, 26-30, 30-27, 19-30), before closing out the day with a 25-30, 27-30, 25-30 loss to the Winthrop Eagles.

The Wildcats dropped to 1-9 overall on the season, while North Texas improved to 3-10 overall and Winthrop moved to 6-3 overall on the season.

Davidson’s first match of the day saw them come out swinging as they took an early 9-7 lead on a kill by freshman Brittany Narr (Hopkins, Minn.). North Texas answered though with a 7-2 run to take back the lead at 14-11. After the Mean Green increased their lead to seven points, 26-19, the Wildcats chipped away and knotted things up at 29-all on a North Texas attacking error. Despite out hitting the Mean Green .256 to .193, North Texas finished off game one with a 4-2 run to secure the 33-31 win.

Davidson fell behind early in game two and never recovered as they fell 30-16, after hitting -.048.

The Wildcats came back in game three and opend play with a 10-2 run thanks to a combined three kills from junior Liz Williamson (Austin, Tex.) and sophomore Katie Pierucci (Bakersfield, Calif.). North Texas would get as close as two, 29-27, but Wildcats’ freshman Tierney Hodgei (Gainesville, Fla.) hammered home her first kill of the match and 16th kill of the game for Davidson for a 30-27 victory.

North Texas and Davidson both went back and forth in game four, playing to a 9-9 tie as Pierucci picked up three kills to open the game. North Texas pulled away with a 10-3 run and won the match with a game four win of 30-19. The Wildcats’ Williamson and Pierucci finished with 21 and 15 kills respectively to pace Davidson.

The Wildcats second match of the day saw Davidson and Winthrop play to 10 ties throughout game one. The last tie was 16-16 before the Eagles pulled away with an 8-4 run to take a 24-20 lead. Davidson got as close as three, 27-24, on a kill from Williamson, but the Eagles secured game one, 30-25, on a kill from Tori Grafeman and a Wildcat attacking error.

In game two, the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind back-to-back kills from freshman Kittery Neale (Gainesville, Fla.). They moved the lead out to 12-6 on Williamson’s driving kill and maintained the lead till the Eagles charged back with a 16-8 run for a 22-21 lead. Davidson never regained the lead and fell in game two 30-27.

Game three was much the same as game one, both teams trading the lead till Winthrop ran off four points in a row to take a 15-11 lead mid-way through the game. Davidson ended up hitting .207 for game three, but the Eagles were hitting on all cyclinders by swinging at a .562 clip and secured the game and match 30-25.

Hodge came up with a team-high 14 kills, while junior Jenna Dykstra (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) finished with 29 assists in the match.

Davidson will wrap up the SpringHill Suites Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 17 when they play Loyola at 3 p.m. and UNC Charlotte at 7:30 p.m.

Auburn 3, Furman 1

AUBURN, Alabama - The Furman volleyball team took a 30-27 victory in game one of its Friday night match with Auburn, but the Tigers came roaring back and downed Furman 30-26, 30-25, 30-26 to win the match 3-1, in first round of action at the Mizuno-Auburn Challenge.

Whitney Purser continued to pace the Furman team, recording 18 kills and 10 digs while hitting .268. Chibuzo Aguocha added 11 kills to the Lady Paladin effort, while Courtney Stewardson totaled 10 digs and Molly Rybak and Kim Tonkin each contributed 11.

The Lady Paladins outblocked the Tigers 12.0 to 11.0. Sophomore middle hitter Kerry Wooten topped the squad with six block assists, while Celestee Wilson added one block solo and four block assists.

Auburn was led in the effort by Jennifer Amobi, who recorded 16 kills, while Rachel Shanks anchored the defense with 22 digs.

With the loss, the Lady Paladins fall to 3-5 on the season, while Auburn improves to 4-2 overall. Furman returns to action Saturday with a 10 a.m. match against Clemson, followed by a 4 p.m. contest with Alabama A&M.

Virginia 3, Appalachian State 0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ? Virginia’s Sarah Kirkwood notched a school-record nine service aces in leading the Virginia volleyball team to a 3-0 (30-24, 30-15, 30-11) victory over the Appalachian State University, Friday, at the Fairfield Inn Jefferson Cup Volleyball Tournament at Memorial Gym.

With the loss, the Mountaineers fall to 6-4 on the season, while the Cavaliers move to 4-3 overall with the win.

Appalachian was led offensively by sophomores Dianna Thomas (Mobile, Ala.) and Brittany Zahn (Charlotte, N.C.), recording seven kills apiece. Fellow sophomore, Lorelle Rau compiled 21 set assists in the win, adding two kills.

Senior Kali Rumberger (Spokane, Wash.) finished the night with five kills, adding a team-high nine digs.

The Mountaineers were held to a .095 hitting percentage by the Cavaliers, while Virginia hit .389 in the three games. Kirkwood led all hitters, tallying 13 kills to finish the night with a .385 hitting percentage.

In the first game of the tournament, Albany registered a 3-0 (30-20, 30-14, 30-22) win over Liberty.

The Fairfield Inn Jefferson Cup concludes Saturday (September 17) with four matches. At 11:00 a.m., Albany plays Appalachian State and at 1:00 p.m., UVa takes on Liberty. In the evening session, Liberty takes on Appalachian State at 5:00 p.m. and at 7:00 p.m., Virginia hosts Albany.

Georgia Southern 3, Weber State 0

Long Island, N.Y.--The Georgia Southern volleyball team defeated Weber State three games to one Friday night in the Eagles first match of the Long Island University Invitational, in Long Island, N.Y.

Georgia Southern (7-3) took an early advantage in the match, winning game one 30-23, and game two 30-26 before losing game three 24-30. The Eagles proved to be too much for Weber State (5-5) as they finished the match winning game four 30-23.

Senior Iulia Porumbescu (Bucharest, Romania) led the Eagles with her ninth double-double on the season, recording 30 kills and 13 digs. Porumbescu, who finished the night with a .491 hitting percentage, recorded 30-plus kills for the second time in the 2005 season.

Sophomore Bailey Coleman (Awendaw, S.C.) also recorded a double-double, tallying 13 kills (.400 hitting percentage) and 13 digs. Junior Jennifer Charles (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) finished the night with nine kills and led the team with six total blocks.

"We started the match ready to play," head coach Kerry Messersmith said, "And we never lost that intensity. We played well both offensively and defensively tonight and defeated a good opponent in Weber State. I was very excited to watch the match tonight and hope to see this play carry throughout the season."

Weber State was led in the match by Brittney Gisaillon (16 kills and two blocks) and Leah Burmeister (15 kills and 10 digs).

Georgia Southern will continue play tomorrow in the LIU Invitational as they play Bowling Green at 11 a.m. and then host Long Island at 5 p.m.

Sept. 17, 2005

Albany 3, Appalachian State 1

Appalachian State 3, Liberty 1

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ? Sophomore Brittany Zahn (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded her second double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs, as the Appalachian State University volleyball team swept Liberty, 3-0 (30-16, 30-25, 34-32), Saturday evening, in its final game of the Jefferson Cup Tournament hosted by the University of Virginia.

Earlier in the day, the Mountaineers fell to the Great Danes of Albany, 3-1 (16-30, 30-28, 21-30, 26-30). With the spilt Saturday, the Mountaineers move to 7-5 on the season. With its win Saturday evening, Appalachian ended a two-match skid, having fallen to Virginia, 3-0, Friday night.

Zahn tied a career-high with 15 kills, committing just one error for a career-best .609 hitting percentage. Senior Kali Rumberger (Spokane, Wash.) added 15 kills for the Mountaineers. Sophomore Lorelle Rau (Oakland Park, Fla.) recorded a match-high 35 assists, adding four kills, six digs and a service ace in the win over Liberty.

In Appalachian’s first match of the day, senior Stefanie Panzer (Mt. Gilead, N.C.) recorded a team-high 15 kills, adding three digs and two total blocks. This season, Panzer leads ASU with 146 kills, and is eighth in the Mountaineer record books for career kills with 1,022.

Zahn, fellow sophomore, Dianna Thomas (Mobile, Ala.) and freshman Carla Durham (Dallas, Ga.) added nine kills apiece in the match. Durham saw four games of action on the day, tallying a career-high nine kills against Albany, adding three in just one game of play against Liberty.

Junior Chrissy Finch (Lake Zurich, Ill.) led the Mountaineers defensively with 10 digs in the second match, and 16 in match one.

The Mountaineers remain on the road to open up Southern Conference play, as they head to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on Western Carolina, Tuesday, Sept., 20 at 7 p.m. Their next home match is Sept. 30, when the Mountaineers host Elon in their SoCon home opener.

College of Charleston 3, Houston 2

The CofC Cougars defeated the University of Houston Cougars 3-2 (17-30, 30-18, 30-26, 28-30, 15-9) in the third and final match at the 2005 College of Charleston Invitational. The win gives CofC a 10-1 record on the season as Houston falls to 5-7.

The match saw three different players reach 20 kills and another player reach 19. CofC's Amanda Timmers earned a season-high 20 kills while Tiffany Blum notched 19. Marie Dobrenz recorded 33 digs defensively from the libero position and Kaycie Carr earned 55 assists.

"This was a great volleyball match and a great victory for us against a really scrappy Houston team," said CofC Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "Houston made it very difficult to get kills as they dug everything we had early, but we just hung in there and were able to get the win."

For Houston Justine Farmer led all players with 24 kills on the match while hitting for an impressive .305 average. Farmer's teammate Kariny Ritter notched 20 kills in the loss. Libero Jaci Gonzalez earned 31 digs on defense and Jennifer Hohl recorded 31 digs.

In game one Houston pulled away from CofC after the two teams were tied at seven. Farmer hit 11 of her 24 kills in the game in which the UH Cougars used a 23-10 run to defeat the CofC Cougars. Houston's blocking was impressive in blocking five and a half attacks by CofC. Houston would win the game 30-17 heading into game two.
CofC shook off their sluggish start to defeat Houston in game two 30-18. Timmers had five kills in the game while hitting for a .556 average in the game two victory. The CofC defense did a good job of containing Farmer in game two as the Houston freshman was held to only three kills.

After the break both teams came out on a mission as the two schools fought back and forth over the duration of the game with no team ever holding more than a four-point lead. CofC was finally able to shut the door on the visiting Cougars to take the game 30-26 and a 2-1 lead in the match. Timmers notched seven kills in the game three victory.

Houston responded in game four with a 30-28 victory in a hard-fought battle between the two teams. Once again neither team could build more than a four-point lead as the visiting Cougars tied the match at two games apiece.

CofC would take game five and earn the 3-2 match victory of Houston. The final score being 15-9 in favor of the hometown Cougars as CofC goes undefeated at the 2005 CofC Invitational. CofC's next match will be Sept. 23 at Southern Conference rival Furman at 7 p.m. Houston will host intra-state rival Rice on Sept. 21 also at 7 p.m.

Mercer 3, Chattanooga 2

Kent State 3, Chattanooga 0

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Lady Mocs volleyball team fell 3-0 to Kent State in the first matchup Saturday and then lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Mercer in the closer at the Lady Topper Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky.

The Lady Mocs won the first two games by identical 30-21 scores, but couldn’t wrap their arms around the next three games falling 30-25, 30-27, 18-16.

In game four with UTC trailing by two, Mercer reeled off six straight points to take a 19-11 lead. The Lady Mocs pulled to within four at 21-17 but fell behind 29-22. A late game rally wasn’t enough though and Chattanooga dropped the fourth 30-27 as the Bears forced a deciding fifth game.

In game five, Mercer led from the beginning and the Lady Mocs rallied to tie it up at 13-13. Chattanooga got to within match-point at 14-13 but a Julie Darty kill tied it up at 14-14. Leslee Ball’s kill put the Lady Mocs up by a point again and it would be the last lead UTC would have. Two Lady Moc attack errors and a couple of aces from the Bears proved to be too much and Mercer won the deciding game 18-16.

In the opener Saturday, the Lady Mocs fell 3-0 to Kent State 30-23, 30-28, 30-28. With the score tied at 9-9 in game one, the Golden Flashes notched three kills to pull away from Chattanooga and led by as much as nine at 22-13. The Lady Mocs rallied to get to within five at 22-17 but that was as close as it would be and Kent State took the first game by seven.

Games two and three would prove to be much harder for KSU to put away. Chattanooga started out with a three-point lead at 5-2 in game two, and the Flashes came back to tie the match at 5-5. The score bounced back and forth throughout and the pair eventually deadlocking at 28-28. A pair of Mercer kills put the game away.

In game three, the Lady Mocs held a one-point edge throughout the beginning with the game knotting up several times. UTC kept the game in sight never letting Kent State get more than a two-point lead. UTC pulled to within one at 29-28, but a kill from Anja Knabe-Paulson put it away for a three-game sweep.

Chattanooga Senior Lindsey Galloway recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 11 digs against the Golden Flashes and she tallid 20 in the five-match nail biter against Mercer.

UTC Head Coach Lisa Rhodes mixed up the lineup a bit in the early afternoon tilt, opting for a two setter system in sophomore Bethany Herndon and freshman Michaela Huff. Huff tallied 22 sets and Herndon chipped in 10 in the early match and 41 and 16 in the second. Freshman libero Lara Newberry had 50 digs on the day with 28 against Mercer.

Sarah Bass had a game-high 22 kills against the Bears with a .390 hitting percentage and Ball tallied 10. Senior Kelly Ramsay had 19 digs, Huff had 13 and sophomore Kelsey Amundson had 12. Sophomore Julianna Martinez had seven blocks including a solo and Bass had five assists.

Five Mercer players had double-digit kills led by Julie Darty with 16. Jackie Viren had 14 kills and 10 digs. Liz Kane had 27 digs and Claire Tucker recorded 11.

Chattanooga had 50 kills against Kent State getting nine from senior Kelly Ramsay and sophomore Leslie Ball who hit for .471, while sophomore Julianna Martinez and Sarah Bass tossed in eight apiece.

The Golden Flashes had four players with double-digit kills including Danielle Holt with 22 and 15 digs. Kent State recorded 66 kills, hitting .349.

The Lady Mocs drop below .500 at 5-6 and will look to stop a four-match losing skid when former Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State comes to Maclellan Gym Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Wofford 3, Charleston Southern 0

A trio of players with double-digit kills, including a match-high 15 by junior Christal Carey, helped lead the Wofford volleyball team to a 3-0 triumph Saturday afternoon against Charleston Southern in the final match of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Volleyball Classic in the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The Terriers won the contest by scores of 30-35, 30-28, 30-25.

Carey finished with a .257 hitting percentage and paced the club with 17.5 points. Joining her with double-digit kills was 10 apiece from senior Katie Sobczyk and freshman Brittany Thompson. Sobczyk registered a .364 hitting percentage, just shy of freshman Liz Sheets' team-leading .375. Sheets notched eight kills and 16 total attacks.

Junior Shana Glenn tallied 13 digs, one better than Thompson for the Terrier (5-4) lead. Senior setter Rhea DeJesus added 49 assists.

Pacing the Buccaneers was Victoria Owens with 12 kills and 34 total attacks. She posted a double-double with 13 digs, just shy of the match-high 14 by Jillian Worby. CSU's (4-7) Canan Erdogan posted an even .500 hitting percentage on eight kills and 14 total attacks with just one error.

Wofford will return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. when it hosts Southern Conference leader College of Charleston.

Wofford 3, Charleston Southern 0
30-25, 30-28, 30-25

Team Comparison:
Kills -- Wofford 55, Charleston Southern 37
Total Attacks -- Wofford 132, Charleston Southern 120
Hitting Percentage -- Wofford .220, Charleston Southern .108
Assists -- Wofford 51, Charleston Southern 35
Service Aces -- Wofford 8, Charleston Southern 1
Digs -- Wofford 48, Charleston Southern 43
Total Blocks -- Charleston Southern 9.0, Wofford 6.0
Points -- Wofford 69.0, Charleston Southern 47.0

Clemson 3, Furman 0

AUBURN, Alabama - In the first match of day two of the Mizuno/Auburn Challenge, intrastate rival Clemson defeated the Furman volleyball team 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-24) to send the Lady Paladin record to 3-6 on the season.

Junior Ally Hock (Oviedo, Fla.) tallied 12 kills and hit .200 to pace the Furman offense, while setter Courtney Stewardson (Apple Valley, Minn.) recorded 26 assists and 11 digs in the loss. Kim Tonkin (Marietta, Ga.) paced the Furman back row defense with 15 digs, while sophomore Kerry Wooten (Hamptonville, N.C.) anchored the net defense with 1 block solo and four block assists.

The Tigers were led in their winning effort by Jeannette Abbot's 12 kills and Anna Vallinch's 19 digs.

The Lady Paladins will complete their competition in the Mizuno-Auburn classic later today, with a 4 p.m. match against Alabama A&M.

Furman 3, Alabama A&M 0

AUBURN, Alabama - Furman's Lady Paladin volleyball tem improved to 4-6 on the year with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-26, 30-22) victory over Alabama A&M, Saturday at the Mizuno-Auburn Challenge.

Whitney Purser paced the Furman squad with nine kills and 13 digs, while freshman Alison West put up strong numbers with a .462 attack percentage on seven kills. Sophomore Courtney Stewardson hit .571 with four kills and tallied 34 assists, while Celestee Wilson led the net defense with four block assists.

Furman returns to action on Friday, Sept. 23, when the Lady Paladins open the 2005 home slate with a 7 p.m. match against College of Charleston. The C of C game will mark the opening of Furman's newly renovated Alley Gym, which gives the Lady Paladins the only volleyball-specific facility in the Southern Conference.

Long Island 3, Georgia Southern 1

Brooklyn, N.Y.--The Georgia Southern volleyball team was defeated three games to one against Long Island in the final match of the Long Island Invitational Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Georgia Southern (7-5) fought back and forth with Long Island (5-8) losing game one 25-30 and winning game two 30-27. The Eagles fell behind early in game 3, and eventually fell short, 23-30. Georgia Southern was unable to capitalize on 14 service errors by Long Island during the match and the Eagles were defeated in game four 27-30.

Senior Iulia Porumbescu led the team in kills, 18, and also in digs, 17, as she recorded her tenth double-double on the season. Senior Natalia Galantini totaled 26 assists and was one dig short of a double-double with nine. For her play during the tournament, Galantini was named to the All-Tournament team.

For the third consecutive match, Georgia Southern recorded eight team blocks, led by senior Cristie Mitchell, five blocks, and junior's Jennifer Charles and Jennifer Schenk, who each recorded four.

Long Island was led by Ivana Vasiljevic, 56 assists and 11 digs, Lizelle Jackson, 19 kills and 16 digs, Martina Wagner, 12 kills and 15 digs, and Adela Igniska, who recorded 10 kills and 13 digs.

Georgia Southern will now begin conference play as the team will travel to Greensboro, N.C. Saturday, Sept. 24 to play UNC Greensboro.

Bowling Green 3, Georgia Southern 0

Brooklyn, N.Y.-- The Georgia Southern volleyball team lost three games to none Saturday morning to Bowling Green in the Eagles second match of the LIU Invitational.

In each of the three games, Georgia Southern (7-4) held a lead over Bowling Green (5-5) but could not find a way to capitalize on the advantage. The Eagles were swept in the match, losing game one 25-30, game two 28-30, and finally, game three 26-30.

The Eagles out dug the Falcons 53 to 48 led by senior Natalia Galantini who had 13 and also out blocked Bowling Green eight to three led by junior Jennifer Schenk's four. The Falcons, however, managed to out kill Georgia Southern 51 to 44. The Eagles finished the match with a .143 hitting percentage.

Senior Iulia Porumbescu led the match with 16 kills and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine in the match.

The Eagles, 1-1 in the tournament, will conclude their play in the Long Island Invitational Saturday at 5 p.m. as they take on host Long Island

UNC Asheville 3, Western Carolina 0

Asheville, N.C. - Western Carolina struggled to find its offensive groove against the red-hot UNC Asheville Bulldogs, falling in straight sets, 3-0 (30-24, 30-13, 30-26), Saturday night in the final game of the UNCA Bulldog Volleyball Classic from the Justice Center.

With the loss, the Catamounts fall to 2-10 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play. Winners of seven-straight, the Bulldogs improve to 9-2.

Western was led offensively by senior Ellie Talbot with nine kills, adding 11 digs to miss the double-double by one. Junior Meghan Boyle also just missed the double-double, dishing out 30 assists and digging nine in the loss.

Junior Heather Koontz recorded seven kills in the night cap, coupled with her 16 from the first match on the day, to earn All-tournament honors. She is the third different Catamount to earn tournament honors in Western's three early-season tourney appearances.

Western opened game one, racing out to the 6-4 advantage only to see the Bulldogs, retaliate to close the deficit and surge ahead. Standing tied at 19, UNCA used a 7-2 spurt to take a 26-21 edge and held on to take game one, 30-24.

The Cats were overwhelmed by both errors and an outstanding `Dog attack to open game two, falling behind quickly 16-6. UNC Asheville would build the advantage to as many as 15, 27-12, before finishing it off 30-13. Western was held to three kills in game two, hitting a low -.172 to trail two games to none.

In game three, the Catamounts showed renewed vigor, rallying back from a 6-2 early deficit to charge to the 12-10 lead using kills from Koontz and junior Kate Willard, who also added a service ace during the rally. But the Bulldogs hung around, knotting things at 12, 14, and 15, with the latter marking the last time they would trail. UNCA would maintain at least a two-point advantage down the stretch to take the match, 30-26.

Samford 3, Western Carolina 1

Asheville, N.C. - Despite putting four in double-figures, including a pair of double-doubles, the Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team fell in four games to the Samford Bulldogs, 3-1 (28-30, 30-27, 30-24, 30-22) in their first match of the UNC Asheville Bulldog Volleyball Classic.

Western is now 4-3 all-time versus Samford as the loss avenged a Western victory at the Samford Invitational tournament in early September.

Western (2-9, 1-0) was paced in the match by double-doubles from senior Ellie Talbot and junior Meghan Boyle. Talbot hammered home 15 kills and dug 12, while Boyle dished out a season-high 57 assists, adding 11 digs. Boyle's classmate, Heather Koontz, led the Catamount offense with 16 kills, with sophomore Danielle Spitzer adding 10 and four total blocks in the losing effort.

Defensively, junior Kate Willard came up with a match-high 24 digs for Western.

The Catamounts fell behind early in game one, trailing Samford 6-1 out of the gates. But, behind Willard's serve, Western was able to pull back within one on five-consecutive points, 6-5. But that would be the story of the game as Western would fall behind the Bulldogs only to rally to within one or tie, but were unable to pull ahead, falling 30-28.

Turnabout was fair play in game two as the script was flipped and it was the Bulldogs playing catch-up. Western raced to the early 5-1 advantage only to see Samford claw back to tie the game at five apiece, then surge ahead. Using kills from Spitzer and sophomore Meredith Harmon, Western was able to reclaim the lead, 14-11.

After a Boyle dump kill that gave Western the 29-25 advantage, Western had three attempts at game point before Koontz evened the game with a kill to even the match at one-game apiece. In all, the Cats were only able to open up leads of four points on two occasions in the nip-and-tuck battle, winning despite being out hit by Samford .375-to-.421.

Game three opened as did the first, with Samford taking the early advantage and outlasting Western's rally to win, 30-24. The Catamounts trailed by as many as four midway through the game, but kept things close until errors on both attacks and Bulldog services propelled Samford to the 2-1 match lead.

Errors also hurt Western's chances in what became the deciding game four. After losing the serve, the Cats fell behind early, 6-1. The Bulldogs used a 7-2 run midway through the match to take a 21-13 lead. The Catamounts fought back, though, closing to within three, 24-21, before three consecutive points by the Bulldogs seemingly sealed the deal.

The Catamounts will conclude play in the tournament on Saturday night at 7:00 pm as they battle the host UNCA Bulldogs at 7:00 pm. Fans can follow the play-by-play action online tonight by visiting UNCA's website, www.uncabulldogs.com.

The Catamounts open the home portion of their Southern Conference schedule this Tuesday, Sept. 20 as they host arch-rival Appalachian State at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. The first 150 fans through the gates will receive a free T-shirt. Be there as the Catamounts look to ROCK RAMSEY on Tuesday night.