UNC Greensboro 3, Appalachian State 1
PHOTOS
BOONE, N.C.- Second-year head Shawn Garus continued to guide his young team through Southern Conference Volleyball Championship as seventh-seeded UNC Greensboro upset the host team and third-seeded Appalachian State 3-1 in the semifinals at Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. Saturday evening.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz got the Spartans rolling in game one with two big solo blocks to tie the game at nine. ASU answered with its own tough defense as they built an 18-16 lead. UNCG rallied behind the serve of freshman Kayleigh Knerr as she rolled off five straight points to put the Spartans ahead 21-18. The lead changed four more times before UNCG took game one 34-32 on an ASU hitting error.
Appalachian State jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in game two and continued to build its lead as the Mountaineers led by as many as seven. The Spartans refused to go down easy as they cut the lead to one with strong defense from libero Catherine Hanners. UNCG fought back to grab the lead at 28-27 and kept it as the Spartans went into the break up two sets to none after ASU was called for a net violation.
In game three the two scrappy teams battled to three ties and two lead changes before an offensive spark by ASU put the Mountaineers up 20-15. ASU’s offense continued to dominate as they hit for a .256 clip and all-conference team member Brittany Zahn had a game-high five kills as the Mountaineers took the third set 30-20.
Early in game four ASU was up five points but the Spartans once again refused to go away as a frustrated Mountaineers team let UNCG get back in the game as they tied it up at 13. UNCG took control of the lead when its defense came up with two big digs to go up 25-21. After a sideout by ASU with the score 27-24, Zahn went back to serve and helped ASU regain the lead 28-27. Coming from behind again the Spartans rallied to take game three and the match 3-1.
The Spartans were led by all-conference team member Theresa Hart who tallied 19 kills followed by Branagan Fuller and Kaitlyn Nortz with 13. Freshman Lisa Fawell once again led the UNCG offense and dished out 53 assists.
ASU’s Brittany Zahn finished with a match-high 21 kills to lead the Mountaineers with Chrissy Finch finishing with 17. Setter Lorelle Rau paced the offense with 53 assists while libero Cassie Engelgau anchored the defense with 22 digs.
Appalachian State ends its season with a 23-10 record while UNC Greensboro improves to 23-12.
Before this week UNCG had not won a Southern Conference Tournament match since joining the league in 1997. The Spartans will advance to the championship match to meet top-seeded and defending tournament champion College of Charleston in the championship match on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The last time a seven-seed played in the championship match was Chattanooga in 2001.
College of Charleston 3, Chattanooga 0
PHOTOS
BOONE, N.C.- Top-seeded College of Charleston defeated fifth-seeded Chattanooga 3-0 (30-20, 30-21, 30-28) in the first semifinal match of the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship at Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Mocs grabbed an early 7-2 lead in game one but the Cougars offensive game began to roll as they took control of the lead at 20-15. Charleston setter Lindsey Kane made a big solo stop at the net to spark the Cougars as they went on to take game one 30-20.
Game two was filled with several long rallies but Charleston won the game 30-21 on a kill from outside hitter Sarah Voss. Chattanooga’s Leslee Ball recorded a game-high seven kills but it was not enough as the Cougars held the Lady Mocs to a .145 hitting percentage.
College of Charleston continued its balanced attack in set three leading throughout the game. The Cougars were up 28-21 when the Lady Mocs made a seven-point run to tie the game at 28. The Cougars got the ball back with game and match point. A Chattanooga hitting error gave the Cougars the 30-28 win, including the 3-0 match win.
Charleston was led by junior Deanna Patrick with 15 kills followed by all-conference team member Annie Uthe with nine. Libero of the Year Marie Dobrenz anchored the Cougar defense who held the Lady Mocs to a .042 hitting percentage as she recorded 23 digs.
Chattanooga was paced by Leslee Balle who finished with 11 kills and Kari Weidinger tabbed eight.
College of Charleston advances to the championship match on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. It is their third consecutive appearance in the final. The Cougars will face either third-seeded Appalachian State or seventh-seeded UNC Greensboro.