Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 0
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University volleyball extended its winning streak over Western Carolina to eight matches with a 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-20) win Wednesday night at the Holmes Center.
With the win the Mountaineers improve to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play, while the Catamounts drop to 4-16 on the season and 0-4 in the league. Appalachian head coach Chad Callihan is undefeated against Western Carolina in his four seasons at the helm. ASU hit at a .300 mark while holding WCU to just .085 on the night.
In game one the Mountaineers recorded 20 digs on their way to a .312 hitting percentage and a 30-24 victory. Junior Brittany Zahn recorded six kills in game two as ASU went on to a 20-22 game-win. In the third game, Appalachian held Western Carolina to a .050 hitting percentage on its way to a 30-20 win and 3-0 match victory.
Zahn finished the night with a match-high 16 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. The Charlotte, N.C. native has now hit in double-digit kills in all 16 matches this season.
Seniors Chrissy Finch (Lake Zurich, Ill.) and Rachel Gates (Hanover,
Pa.) anchored the ASU defense with 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Sophomore Charissa Clearman (Austin, Texas), freshman Cassie Engelgau (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) and junior Lorelle Rau (Oakland Park, Fla.) chipped in nine digs apiece. Rau added 42 assists on the night.
Freshman libero Liz Rondone anchored the Western Carolina defense with
22 digs. Rondone entered the match ranked 14th in the nation with 5.99 digs per game. Senior Meghan Boyle added 12 digs. Junior Meredith Harmon led the offensive attack with a team-high 12 kills, while freshman Katie Hennessey dished out 27 assists.
The Mountaineers hit the road this weekend as they face Elon Friday, September 29 at 7 p.m. and UNC Greensboro, Saturday, September 30 at 4 p.m. The Catamounts take a few days off before heading to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern on Sunday, October 1 at 2 p.m.
Georgia Southern 3, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? With 10 service aces in the match, the Eagles defeated The Citadel 3-0 (30-17, 30-10, 30-21), capturing their second Southern Conference win of the season and improving to 8-3 on the season.
“It’s huge for us to get a win in our last match on the road,” said head coach Nicole McCray. “We played a well-executed match against a very good Citadel team. We are excited to play at home this weekend for the first time in a month.”
Georgia Southern went on a scoring streak early in the first frame, taking nine-of-ten straight points from The Citadel and taking a 13-6 lead. Jennifer Charles had five kills and recorded a block assist with Bailey Coleman as the Eagles took the game 30-17.
In the second game, the scoring streaks continued as the Eagles recorded 10-of-11 straight points to go up 23-8. Gorana Bacic and Jennifer Schenk recorded two block assists each as GSU held the Bulldogs to just 10 points, eventually taking the contest 30-10.
The final frame of the three-game set also went to the Eagles thanks to seven kills from Christy Dowd. Bacic and Schenk each added one block assist, finishing the match with three a piece. Georgia Southern held the Bulldogs to a -.047 hitting percentage and only allowed 22 kills in the three games.
The Eagles return home for a four-game homestand as GSU faces Chattanooga on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse.