Chattanooga 3, College of Charleston 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) notched her second straight 60-plus assist match and junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) recorded a near program record 45 digs to lead Chattanooga (11-8, 6-1) to a thrilling 3-2 victory over three-time defending Southern Conference champion College of Charleston (11-6, 6-1) Tuesday afternoon at Maclellan Gym in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Lady Mocs defeated the Cougars 30-27, 31-29, 25-30, 16-30 and 15-12 improve to 6-1 in the Southern Conference.
Following a relentless comeback by the College of Charleston from down 0-2 to tie the match at 2-2 and force a fifth and final game, the Lady Mocs quickly took control of the deciding frame, jumping out to dominant leads of 8-4 and 13-6. A CofC kill and four consecutive attack errors by UTC narrowed the gap to 13-11 before Chattanooga broke serve on a Charleston attack error, reaching game point at 14-11.
After a kill by senior setter Lindsey Kane made the score 14-12, Chattanooga senior middle blocker Julianna Martinez (Austin, Texas) slammed the door on any comeback hopes by pounding her eighth kill of the day into the heart of the Cougars defense for the game-winner, 15-12.
The Lady Mocs opened the match with strong performances in the first two games. In Game 1, Chattanooga and the College of Charleston battled through four lead changes and six ties before settling at 13-13. Following a CofC kill, UTC ripped off five straight points to go ahead 18-14 behind four consecutive kills.
The Cougars closed to within 20-17 before an exchange of points made the score 21-18. At that point, Charleston rallied to take the lead, 25-21 on a 7-3 run before the Lady Mocs put together a 4-0 run of their own to tie the score at 25-25. After back-to-back kills by the Cougars made the score 27-25, UTC shut the door, scoring the last five points, three by kill, to take the game 30-27 and go up 1-0 in the match.
In Game 2, Charleston took the early lead, 10-6, before Chattanooga rallied to tie the score at 14-14. The next several plays resulted in four ties before the Lady Mocs pulled ahead 20-17. Following back-to-back points to by the Cougars to make the score 20-19, UTC mounted a 6-2 run to extend to a 26-21 lead.
It was then that CofC made their run, scoring eight of the next nine points to pull ahead 29-27 to come within a point of evening the match. At that point, Chattanooga rallied to take the next four points, culminating with a resounding kill by senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.), to take the game 31-29 and extend their match lead to a commanding 2-0.
Games 3 and 4 would be far different from the matches first two sets as the College of Charleston came alive. In the third set, CofC fought their way out to leads of 12-8 and 18-15 before Chattanooga rallied to tie the score at 23-23. That would be as close as the Lady Mocs would get as a 7-2 run by the Cougars ended the game, 30-25, and narrowed their match lead to 2-1. Game 4 was decided following an early 7-7 tie as the College of Charleston posted a 9-0 run to take firm control of the game with a 16-7 lead. Chattanooga would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as CofC went on to wrap up the game with a 30-16 victory. That forced the decisive fifth game and set the stage for the Lady Mocs heroics in the final frame.
For the Cougars, Kane’s 56 assists and senior middle blocker Tiffany Blum’s match-high tying 24 kills led the offensive attack while freshman outside hitter Cole Dawley and sophomore outside hitter Emily Sawin led the defense with 23 and 22 digs, respectively. Senior defensive specialist Megan Parkerson added 18 digs while freshman outside hitter Whitney Russell and senior middle blocker Annie Uthe rounded out the double-figure kills with 12 and 10, respectively.
Chattanooga was led on offense by Bethany Herndon’s match-high 61 assists and Ball’s match-high tying 24 kills. For Herndon, it is the second straight match that she has recorded more than 60 assists, having notched a career-high tying 63 at Wofford on Sunday, while it is Ball’s seventh 20-plus kill performance of the season. Lara Newberry equaled her career-high, set earlier this year against Georgia State, with a match-high 45 digs for an average of nine per game. That mark is one off the all-time Chattanooga single match record of 46 set by all-time leader Kylie Hunter (1990-93) on October 15, 1991 vs. Samford.
Freshman outside hitter Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) finished with 19 digs and nine kills while senior outside hitter Jamie Engel (Troy, Ill.) added 18 digs. Senior middle blocker Sarah Bass (Baton Rouge, La.) added a season-high tying 16 kills while Herndon added 19 digs.
As a team, Chattanooga registered 124 digs for an average of 24.8 and raises its nation leading average to 22.4. The Lady Mocs also tied their season high with 69 assists.
The win snaps a 15-match losing streak to the College of Charleston dating back to November 17, 2000 when the Cougars defeated UTC 3-0 in the Southern Conference Tournament. It is the Lady Mocs first victory over CofC since November 11, 2000 when the Lady Mocs prevailed 3-0 in Charleston, S.C. That same season, Chattanooga defeated CofC at Maclellan Gym, 3-2, on October 6 for their last home win over the Cougars.
With the win, Chattanooga improves to 7-1 in the Southern Conference and is in second place behind Furman, who is 6-1 but with a 3-2 head-to-head victory over UTC this past weekend in Greenville, S.C.
The Lady Mocs return to action this weekend as they host UNC Greensboro on Saturday, October 13 and Elon on Sunday, October 14 at Maclellan Gym. First serve for both matches is set for 2 p.m.
Elon 3, North Carolina A&T 1
ELON, N.C. - Freshman Lauren Copenhagen tallied her third double-double of the season, posting season highs of 17 kills and 20 digs, as she led Elon to a 3-1 (30-27, 30-28, 27-30, 30-15) win over North Carolina A&T Tuesday night in Alumni Gym.
The Phoenix had four players with eight kills, tallying 58 as a squad. Elon posted 11 team blocks, including five each from Copenhagen and Emily Lucci.
The Aggies out hit Elon in game one, hitting .312 in the frame to the Phoenix's .257, but Elon's tough defense won the battle as it went on to win 30-27. Copenhagen logged seven kills in the stanza and hit .600.
Copenhagen added a team-leading six kills and eight digs in the second game, with Elon eventually taking a 2-0 advantage with a 30-28 win. But the Phoenix faltered in game three, dropping the stanza 27-30, as A&T's Krystal Cooper posted seven kills. Lucci and Britany Westphal each had four kills for Elon.
The Phoenix powered back in the final frame with a 30-15 win to seal the match. Elon held the Aggies to a -.097 hitting percentage with four team blocks and six digs from Copenhagen.
Natalie Moore dished out 34 assists for Elon, with Lucci providing 15 digs. Cooper led North Carolina A&T with 11 kills and 14 digs.
Elon will return to Southern Conference play this weekend as the team travels to Western Carolina and Chattanooga this weekend.
The Citadel 0, North Florida 3
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel volleyball team dropped the first match of today’s double-header to Central Florida in three games. Game scores were 30-13, 30-28 and 30-15.
The Citadel was out hit in the match, .061 to .421, largely because of poor passing on the side of the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs had only 19 assists to the Golden Knights’ 47.
In game one, The Citadel allowed Central Florida to jump out to a commanding 15-3 lead. The Bulldogs were stunned by the Golden Knight attackers as UCF had 21 kills in game one. The Citadel also made nine errors that would hurt them in the 30-13 loss.
Game two would be a little bit different as The Citadel came out firing on all cylinders to put the pressure on Central Florida. The two teams were dead locked the entire first two-thirds of the game until they both reached the 20 point mark. From there The Citadel would rally to take the lead from Central Florida. Just when everything looked great for the Bulldogs, the Golden Knights rallied back to tie the score at 27 and go on to steal game two 30-28.
Game three would closely resemble game one as The Citadel struggled with Central Florida’s attackers came out to hit for an impressive .621 with 19 kills and only one attack error. The Bulldogs didn’t help their cause by converting 11 errors of their own as the Golden Knights took game three 30-15 and the match.
The Citadel will face off against Bethune-Cookman in the second match of the double-header tonight at 6 p.m. in Orlando, Fla.
The Citadel 3, Bethune-Cookman 1
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel volleyball team defeated Bethune-Cookman in the second match of their double-header in Orlando, Fla. The Bulldogs set the tone early by winning games one and two before putting the Wildcats away in game four. Game scores were 30-23, 30-22, 24-30 and 30-28.
The Citadel passed the ball extremely well as junior setter Emily Hill had 47 assists in the match. Leading the Bulldog offensive was junior Rachel Sanders with 20 kills, freshmen Caitlin Vyborny with 15 kills and Blaine McAllister with 14 kills. Hill, Vyborny and McAllister would also acquired double-double marks in the match as Vyborny led the team with 20 digs, followed by Hill with 15 and McAllister with 12. Junior Ashley Winter also recorded 11 digs while freshman Jessica Maas added 10 digs of her own.
In game one, The Bulldogs would rally for a 6-0 run to jump out ahead of the Wildcats 10-5. However, the Wildcats responded with a 6-1 rally of their own locking the game at 11. The game would be a back and forth battle as neither team could get a substantial lead on the other. With the score tied at 22, it would be the Bulldogs that would manufacture an 8-1 rally to put the Wildcats away 30-23.
In game two, The Citadel managed to gain an early 6-2 lead on the Wildcats. The Bulldogs had the momentum and worked to hold off the Wildcats. The Dogs used a 6-1 exchange to extend their lead to seven, trying to distance themselves from the Wildcats at 18-11. The two teams exchanged short 3-0 runs, but once again the Bulldogs were able to make a late 6-2 rally to put the Wildcats away 30-22.
The tables would turn in game three as The Citadel fell behind Bethune-Cookman early, 12-4. From there it would be a back and forth battle as the teams exchanged short runs, everytime the Wildcats would get a 3-0 run the Bulldogs would respond with a 3-0 run of their own. However, The Citadel couldn’t ever overcome the early deficit as Bethune-Cookman took game three 30-23.
Game four seemed to be very similar to game three as Bethune-Cookman jumped on The Citadel early leading 10-4. However, the Bulldogs would use an 11-3 rally to tie and take the lead from the Wildcats. Four lead changes later, it would be the Bulldogs that would regain the lead and go on to win the game 30-28 and the match.
The Citadel (4-18, 0-7 SoCon) will be back in Southern Conference action this “Parent’s Day” weekend when they host the Wofford Terriers Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. and the Furman Paladins Sunday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. in McAlister Field House.