UNC Greensboro 3, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. ? Senior Samantha Parisi tallied 10 kills while Taylor Stanke registered seven kills and the duo led The Citadel in an amazing comeback in the second game that fell just short as UNC Greensboro took the 3-0 victory Friday night. Stanke led the team in hitting with a .350 percentage on the night.
UNC Greensboro (15-7, 5-4 Southern Conference) outhit the Bulldogs .293 to .103 as The Citadel (7-15, 1-8 SoCon) was unable to overcome a powerful Spartan block in the match. UNCG recorded seven blocks to The Citadel’s four while the Bulldogs negated all six service aces with six service errors.
UNCG was led by Theresa Hart’s 16 kills and Kaitlyn Nortz’s 14 kills and a .684 hitting percentage. Branagan Fuller added 12 kills for UNCG while Catherine Hanners recorded 17 digs.
The biggest surprise of the match came as UNC Greensboro’s serving struggled. Ranked 14th nationally, the Spartans only served up five aces to eight service errors with three of those aces coming within a 10-point span late in the first game. Hanners, ranked third in the conference in serving, put up four service errors with no aces as the Bulldog serve receive held strong throughout almost the entire match.
The Citadel and Greensboro were neck and neck in the first set with five tie scores in the game but three aces by Spartan servers in the final 10 points sealed the game victory for UNC Greensboro. Nortz led the Spartans in the game with six kills while Parisi and Rachel Sanders each had four kills for the Bulldogs.
Greensboro jumped out to a quick lead in the second game with a 17-7 edge early on. The Citadel, despite only playing six players and a libero in the entire match, rallied back and came within one point at the 29-28 mark off a Hanners service error. However, Fuller put down a kill to end the Bulldog rally and close the game at 30-28.
“It hurts to work so hard to come so close but not be able to finish,” said head coach Carolyn Geiger. “We played well late in that game but we have to learn not to give up the early lead to our opponents. We need to execute fundamentals in every play.”
The Citadel gave up the early lead in the third game as well, but the Bulldogs were unable to mount a comeback again as Greensboro never let up the attack. The Spartans led by as much as 14 at the 21-7 mark and continued on for the 30-16 game three win. The Citadel’s offense stalled as the Bulldogs hit -.028 in the game while UNCG’s offense rolled with a .364 hitting percentage.
The Citadel returns to action Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs face the Elon Phoenix (7-11, 4-3 SoCon) at 2 p.m. in McAlister Field House.
Appalachian State 3, Davidson 0
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University volleyball extended its winning streak to seven matches with a 3-0 (30-24, 30-24, 30-23) sweep of Southern Conference-foe Davidson, Friday night at the Holmes Convocation Center.
The Mountaineers improve to 8-1 in conference play and 15-7 overall and have won nine of their last 10 contests. ASU remains in second place in the conference. The Wildcats drop to 12-11 on the season and an even 4-4 in SoCon action.
Appalachian out-hit its opponent with a .333 hitting percentage compared to just .067 by Davidson, as ASU blocked 11 of Davidson’s attacks. The Mountaineers combined for 48 kills on the night.
Junior Brittany Zahn (Charlotte, N.C.) led the offensive attack with 13 kills and a .391 attack percentage. She’s now hit in double-digit kills in all 21 matches she’s played in this season. Classmate Dianna Thomas (Mobile, Ala.) added 11 kills on a .474 hitting clip. Sophomore Carla Durham (Dallas, Ga.) remained a solid force at the nets with five total blocks, three solo.
Freshman Cassie Engelgau (Lake Arrowhead, Cailf) chipped in 10 digs, while sophomore Lorelle Rau (Oakland Park, Fla.) dished out 38 assists.
Kittery Neale led the Wildcat offense with 11 kills, while setter Jenna Dykstra had team-highs with nine digs and 28 assists.
The Mountaineers conclude their five-match home stand as they host Georgia Southern, Saturday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.