Wichita State 3, College of Charleston 1
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- College of Charleston volleyball fell 3-1 to Wichita State in the opening round of the GlaxoSmithKline Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday afternoon.
The Cougars (3-2) were led by Lindsay Kane with a .267 hitting percentage, followed by Annie Uthe who hit a .227 clip.
Deanna Patrick posted a double-double as she led CofC with 14 kills, adding 11 digs. Marie Dobrenz led the Charleston defense with 27 digs.
College of Charleston salvaged a Shockers sweep as the Cougars notched a 30-27 win in Game 3. Wichita State topped CofC, 30- 19, 30-14 and 30-18.
Wichita State (7-2) was paced by Sarah Lungren with 19 kills and 17 digs.
The Cougars will face host North Carolina in the Classic at noon on Saturday, before taking on Illinois in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman 3, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. ? Samantha Parisi led The Citadel with 10 kills and 14 assists, marking her third double-double of the season, but the rest of the Bulldog offense struggled as The Citadel fell to Bethune-Cookman, 3-0, halting the team’s three-match winning streak. Game scores were 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25.
The Citadel offense hit only .092 in the match compared to the Wildcats’ .259. The Citadel also struggled in serving with only a +1 serve differential, serving up 11 aces and 10 errors. Bethune-Cookman’s serving also stalled with a ?4 serve differential, giving up six service errors with only two aces.
In all three games, The Citadel found themselves down big but managed to rally to back for a fighting chance. In a game one where the Bulldogs were outhit .304 to .109, the Bulldog Spikers were down by as much as 24-17 before igniting a rally that brought them within four and kept them close the rest of the way. Bethune-Cookman pulled out the close 30-26 win as Ashley Winter ended the game with a service error.
In the second game, The Citadel served up four aces to two errors but only hit .115 (which turned out to be a match high). In the second set, the Bulldogs were down at the 26-20 mark but continued to fight back before falling 30-25.
It was the same storyline in the third game as The Citadel fell down 24-13. The Cadets were able to pull within four at the 29-25 mark before Bethune-Cookman’s Chelle Ticeson closed the match with a kill, giving BCC the 30-25 game victory and 3-0 match sweep.
For complete coverage of Bulldog volleyball, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
The Citadel 3, Savannah State 0
Charleston, S.C. ? Rachel Sanders recorded her first double-double of the season as she put down 12 kills and recorded 13 digs while Emily Hill orchestrated a Bulldog offense that strolled to the program’s biggest single-game victory since 2004 as The Citadel (4-3) swept Savannah State (0-7) Friday night, 3-0. Game scores were 30-25, 30-12 and 30-26 as The Citadel tied their 2005 win total Friday night.
The Bulldogs’ offense still didn’t run on all cylinders as the team only hit .188 and served up 13 service errors to complement their 14 aces. Sanders led all players with 12 kills but also led all players with nine errors as she only hit .094 on the night. The offense did have its bright flashes as they dominated in the 30-12 game two victory, the largest single game victory for The Citadel since they defeated Savannah State 30-12 in 2004. The Citadel’s largest margin of victory in a single game was a 30-4 win over Savannah State in 2002.
The Citadel started the match slow, hitting .062 in game one while the Tigers hit .143. Bulldog senior Samantha Parisi led all hitters in the first game with five kills, hitting .364 while freshman Tiffany Edwards recorded seven digs. The Bulldogs and the Tigers battled in a game one that witnessed nine tie scores and three lead changes but The Citadel pulled out the 30-25 win after scoring five of the final six points of the game.
The Citadel jumped out to an early lead in game two behind the serving of Emily Hill and never looked back. Hill served for The Citadel as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead, garnering two aces during that streak. Hill ended up serving for 15 of The Citadel’s 30 points in the game, going on another seven-point run late in the game.
In the third game, The Citadel coasted early while Savannah State came out swinging as the Tigers hit .167. The Citadel held tough on defense and hit .224 in the game to pull out the close, 30-26 victory.
The Citadel returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 12 as they head to the Tar Heel State to take on the Winston-Salem State Rams. The Bulldogs and the Rams met at the Hampton Invitational on Sept. 2, with The Citadel taking the 3-0 victory.
Robert Morris 3, UNC Greensboro 0
BOILING SPRINGS, NC ? The UNC Greensboro women’s volleyball team lost 3-0 to Robert Morris at the Runnin Bulldog Invitational hosted by Gardner-Webb on Friday night at Paul Porter Arena.
Robert Morris won by scores of 30-24, 30-28, 30-23.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz led UNCG (7-3) with 11 kills, while senior Theresa Hart added 10 kills for the Spartans. Meanwhile, junior Lauren Keiser put away nine kills with zero errors for a .562 hitting percentage.
Freshman Catherine Hanners, who set a school record with 34 digs last time out in a 3-2 win over High Point, came up with a team-best eight digs.
Freshman Lisa Fawell dished out 41 assists.
Emily Wolthuis led Robert Morris (4-4) with 14 kill, while Janette Schneider added 11 kills.
UNCG continues at the Gardner-Webb Tournament on Saturday with matches against North Carolina Central at 12 noon and the host Bulldogs at 5 pm.
ETSU 3, Furman 0
Johnson City, Tenn. -- Jennifer Sartor led three Lady Bucs in double-digit kills as East Tennessee State defeated Furman 3-0 at the ETSU Invitational on Friday night.
Sartor recorded 15 kills, while Callie Kiselich and Sarah Buhr collected
11 kills apiece. Kaena Apana made a game-high 18 digs for ETSU (6-2).
Furman (4-3) was led by Chibuzo Aguocha with 14 kills and Alison West with 10 kills. Kim Tonkin reached double-digits with 10 defensive saves. Nicole Palazzo recorded a season-high eight total blocks.
Furman returns to action on Saturday as the Paladins face Winthrop at 10:30 a.m. and Evansville at 3:30 p.m. at the ETSU Invitational.
Appalachian State 3, Liberty 0
BLACKSBURG, Va. ? The Mountaineers notched their best hitting percentage of the season with a .342 mark, as Appalachian State University volleyball defeated Liberty, 3-0 (30-15, 30-18, 30-24) in the opening match of the Hokie Invite hosted by Virginia Tech, Friday at Cassell Coliseum.
The Mountaineers improve to 4-3 on the season, while the Flames remain winless at 0-5. ASU returns to the court Saturday morning at 10 a.m., taking on George Washington (6-1) which fell to Virginia Tech (4-3), 3-0, Friday. Liberty faces Virginia Tech at noon. The Mountaineers close the tournament against the Hokies at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Senior Chrissy Finch (Lake Zurich, Ill.) put together her best offensive output of the season with 15 kills and no errors on 26 attempts for a .577 hitting percentage. The outside hitter added 13 digs en route to her second double-double of the season.
Junior Brittany Zahn (Charlotte, N.C.) continued her streak, having tallied double-digit kills in all seven matches this season, with 14 kills. The outside hitter added a season-high eight digs. Middle blocker Amy Lewis (Chesnee, S.C.) had a nearly perfect night with seven kills, no errors and 11 attempts for a .636 hitting percentage.
Freshman libero Cassie Engelgau (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) led the App defense with 14 digs, while sophomore Carla Durham (Dallas, Ga.) added six total blocks.
ASU’s .342 hitting mark bettered its previous high of .284. The Flames struggled at the net with a .073 attack percentage of their own, finishing with just 34 kills, 18 fewer than the Mountaineers’ 52.
Mary Alice Pike paced the Liberty offense with 13 kills and just two errors for a .379 mark. Lara Bartolomeo led the defense with 10 digs, while setter Kallie Corbin added 25 assists.
After defeating the Lady Flames, 30-15, in game one, the Mountaineers struggled to open game two, as the two teams sat tied at 7-7. From that point, ASU outscored Liberty, 23-11 to take the second game, 30-18, and a 2-0 match lead.
With junior Lorelle Rau (Oakland Park, Fla.) serving, Appalachian took a 5-0 lead in game three. The lead quickly became 12 at 16-4, before Liberty used a 6-0 run to pull within six at 16-10. The Lady Flames inched closer, coming within one at 24-23, before a kill by Zahn ended the run. ASU went on to outscore the Lady Flames, 6-1 from that point, taking game three, 30-24, and the match, 3-0.
Saturday’s action begins at 10 a.m. for the Mountaineers against George Washington, before taking on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday evening’s match can be heard live on the web at http://www.hokietv.com/volleyball/.
Chattanooga 3, Lamar 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team posted its first win of the season with a four-game triumph over Lamar on the first night of the Holiday Inn Expresss Challenge.
Leslee Ball’s career-high 20 kills led the Lady Mocs to a 30-28, 30-22, 30-32, 30-20 win over the visiting Lady Cardinals (2-5). Ball also had 14 digs to record her second sconsecutive double-double. Kelsey Amundson added 16 kills and posted a career high of her own with 25 digs. Sarah Bass tallied 12 kills and hit a team high .458. Bass also had the decisive kill in the first two games of the match.
Bethany Herndon passes out a season-high 54 assists to pull within 31 of fifth on the all-time UTC list.
Michaela Huff served three aces on the night and had the serve as the Lady Mocs (1-4) ran out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth and decisive game. The UTC defense held Lamar to a .069 hitting percentage, led by Lara Newberry’s 28 digs.
Lamar was led by Buchi Okoh, who had 17 kills. Alex Brink had 31 of the Lady Cardinals’ 102 digs.
Eastern Kentucky swept Birmingham Southern in the opening match of the tournament.
Tomorrow’s action will begin at 10 a.m., when Lamar faces Eastern Kentucky followed by UTC and Birmingham Southern at 12:30 p.m.
Lamar will face Birmingham Southern at 3 p.m., and UTC will close out the tournament when the Lady Mocs face Eastern Kentucky at 5:30.
Morehead State 3, Western Carolina 0
Morehead, Ky. ? The Western Carolina volleyball team dropped its opener in the Comfort Inn Invitational to host Morehead State in straight sets, 3-0 (30-27, 30-21, 30-26) Friday evening at Wetherby Gym.
Western (1-8) was led by eight kills from junior Meredith Harmon, who only committed two errors on 20 total attempts for a team-high .300 attack percentage. The Villa Hills, Ky., native also added a team-high four total blocks, including a pair of solo stops. Freshman Brittny Johnson equaled Harmon’s block total with four of her own.
Senior Heather Koontz recorded six kills in the loss to rank second on the squad, while freshman libero Liz Rondone led the team defensively with 11 digs. Rondone’s classmate, setter Katie Hennessey, dished out 16 assists and was second on the team with eight digs in the losing effort.
The Catamounts return to action on Saturday morning at 10:00 am against the United States Air Force Academy before concluding tournament play at 4:30 pm against Central Arkansas.