Davidson 3, The Citadel 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? The Davidson volleyball team picked up its first Southern Conference win of the season, shutting out the Citadel 3-0 (30-9, 30-14, 30-11) in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena.
With Davidson hitting .471 as a team, three Wildcats found their way into double-digits in kills. Junior outside hitter Katie Pierucci paced the ?Cat attack with 13 kills in just 24 swings (.458), while senior outside hitter Liz Williamson posted 12 in 20 attempts (.600) and sophomore middle blocker Kittery Neale totaled 11 in 22 tries (.364).
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 9-8 overall, 1-1 in conference play, while the Citadel falls to 5-10 on the season and 0-2 in the SoCon.
Davidson dominated the Bulldogs in every aspect of the match, holding the edge in kills (45-16), total attacks (85-77), service aces (13-1), digs (31-29), blocks (10-1) and points (68-18).
Rachel Sanders had seven kills in 21 attempts to lead the Bulldogs, who hit
-.117 as a team.
Davidson won eight of the first ten points in game one to take a commanding lead and set the early tone for the match. The Citadel scattered nine points throughout the game, but only three were from kills. The Bulldogs never threatened as the ?Cats took the first game easily, 30-9. Neale had four kills to lead Davidson, who outhit the Citadel .642 to -.143 in the first game.
The Wildcats came out firing in game two, and took eight of the first ten points to once again take an early lead that proved enough. Pierucci and Williamson each had six kills in the game for Davidson, who outhit the Bulldgos .333 to -.094. Taylor Stanke had three kills for the Citadel, but it wasn?t enough as the Wildcats pulled away for a 30-14 victory.
In a balanced offensive attack, Pierucci and Neale totaled four kills apiece to boost the ?Cats to a 30-11 win in game three to take the match.
Williamson added her final three in the game, as the ?Cats outhit the Bulldogs .500 to -.083. Davidson again took a commanding 10-5 lead after the first 15 points and cruised to a 30-11 victory to win the match.
Davidson returns to action next weekend, traveling to face conference-foes Elon on Sat., Sept. 30 at 4 p.m., and UNC Greensboro at 4 p.m. on Sun., Oct.
1.
Furman 3, Georgia Southern 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Nicole Palazzo recorded 14 kills and added seven total blocks as Furman rallied from a one-game deficit to down Georgia Southern
3-1 (22-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-27) on Saturday afternoon at Alley Gym.
Palazzo, a sophomore from Grayson, Ga. and the Southern Conference leader in hitting percentage, hit at a .435 (14-4-23) clip and recorded one solo block and six block assists.
Chibuzo Aguocha and Ally Hock both reached double-figures in kills, with
13 and 10, respectively. Kerry Wooten led Furman with nine total blocks.
Stephanie Smith, Courtney Stewardson and Whitney Purser each recorded double-digit digs.
Georgia Southern was led by Gorana Bacic with 14 kills. Staci Anderson added 15 kills for the Eagles, and Jennifer Charles contributed four total blocks.
With the win, Furman improves to 6-7 overall, 2-0 in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern drops to 6-3 on the season, 0-1 in conference play.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday with a midweek trip to Wofford at 7:00 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, UNC Greensboro 2
CHATTANOOGA, TN ? Theresa Hart put away a career-high 29 kills but UNC Greensboro still lost 3-2 at Chattanooga in Southern Conference women’s volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Maclellan Gym.
UNCG (10-6, 1-3 SoCon) fell in five games for the third time in the last four conference matches. Today the Spartans lost by scores of 26-30, 30-22, 23-30, 30-26, 15-12.
Hart, who previously posted a career-high 27 kills twice this season, led UNCG to a 30-26 win in game one and a 30-23 in game three.
However, the Mocs won game two 30-22 and game four 30-26 to set up a fifth and final game. The Mocs came out on top 15-12.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz and freshman Branagan Fuller each had 13 kills, while freshman Catherine Hanners came up with 28 digs. Hart also had 19 digs, while freshman Kayleigh Knerr and freshman Lisa Fawell had 17 and 16 digs respectively.
Fawell also dished out 54 assists.
Leslie Ball and Jamie Engel led UTC with 22 and 21 kills respectively.
UNCG comes right back tomorrow to take on conference rival Western Carolina in Cullowhee, NC.
Elon 3, Western Carolina 0
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Elon’s Juliena Gigon and Britany Westphal each reached double figures in kills as the Phoenix won its seventh-straight over Western Carolina, downing the Catamounts in straight-sets, 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-28) in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center on Saturday afternoon.
Western was paced on the afternoon by 13 kills from junior Meredith Harmon, who posted a team-high .344 attack percentage committing just two errors on 32 total attacks. Harmon also added four blocks, including two solo stops. Three Catamounts recorded seven kills apiece as senior Meghan Boyle and freshmen Brittny Johnson and Lauren Brown, who was making her first career start, each finished with seven. Brown’s seven kills were a career high for the rookie. Johnson added four block assists in the losing effort.
Freshman libero Liz Rondone continued her strong defensive play racking up 23 digs, with her classmate, Katie Hennessey, dishing out 32 assists in the loss.
After falling behind 2-0, Western (4-14, 0-2 SoCon) raced out to a 5-0 advantage in game three forcing the Phoenix to take a timeout. The Catamounts maintained the lead until midway through the match when Elon rallied to knot things at 16. Momentum see-sawed back-and-forth until the Phoenix pulled ahead by four, 27-to-23, and appeared to have things in hand. However, the Catamounts rallied with four consecutive points off of Brown’s serve to tie things up at 27. Tied again at 28, though, Elon managed to score back-to-back points on offense to finish off the game and match, 30-28.
Gigon led the Phoenix with 17 kills and 10 digs for the only double-double of the match, with Westphal adding 10 kills for Elon (5-7, 3-0 SoCon). Libero Brooke Pickard finished with 20 digs for the Phoenix, with Emily Downing adding 10 digs.
The Catamounts conclude their season-long, seven-match home stand on Sunday afternoon, entertaining the UNC Greensboro Spartans at 2:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. Western has won 17-straight over the Spartans. Elon visits Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon.
College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. ? College of Charleston’s volleyball remains undefeated in Southern Conference action as the Cougars bested Appalachian State, 3-2 (30-26, 25-30, 30-26, 29-31, 15-13), Saturday afternoon in Boone, N.C.
College of Charleston improves to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Mountaineers drop to 8-7 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
Deanna Patrick had a career-high 21 kills, followed by Annie Uthe and Tiffany Blum with 13 apiece. Emily Sawin recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs, and Sarah Voss had 11 kills.
Appalachian State’s Brittany Zahn had a match-high 29 kills on .383 hitting to pace the Mountaineers.
As a team, Charleston hit .128, while Appalachian State hit .182
Marie Dobrenz led the Cougars’ defensive effort with 25 digs, while Alexis followed with 18. Lindsey Kane also had a double-double on 16 digs and 61 assists. Megan Parkerson had double-digit digs with 12.
Appalachian State’s Brittany Zahn had a match-high 29 kills on .383 hitting to pace the Mountaineers.
The Cougars travel to Winthrop on Sept. 26 for a non-conference match at 7 p.m. Charleston returns home on Sept. 29 to face Wofford in SoCon play at 7 p.m., followed by Furman on Sept. 30 at 3 p.m.