Davidson 3, Chattanooga 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. Behind five hitters in double figures, the Wildcats downed the Chattanooga Mocs 3-1 (30-27, 28-30, 30-20, 30-28) in SoCon volleyball action Sunday afternoon for their third straight win and a sweep of the weekend's competition.
The third straight triumph moves Davidson to 9-16 and 4-8 in league play, while Chattanooga drops to 13-12 and 8-3 in SoCon action.
Senior outside hitter Katie Pierucci led all hitters with 20 kills and had a match-high 27 digs. Junior middle blocker Kittery Neale also double-doubled with 15 kills and a career-high 11 blocks (three solo, eight assisted), while freshman outside hitter Sarabeth Peele (14), freshman middle blocker Jorden Benedict (11) and sophomore outside hitter Tierney Hodge (10) reached double digits in kills. Freshman setter Anna Bradbury tallied a season and match-high 46 assists in three games.
Leslee Ball led the Chattanooga attack with 13 kills, the lone Moc in double digits, while SoCon Player of the Week Lara Newberry had a team-high 26 digs.
?I am happy with the progress that we made this week,? head coach Tim Cowie said. ?We had some players really step up, and as a result, we got three big conference wins. We still have a ways to go, but we are playing with more confidence now.?
Davidson opened the match with an 11-9 lead, but Jamie Engel knotted the score at 12. The teams exchanged points until Davidson pulled ahead by a pair of scores, 17-15. Chattanooga rallied, 20-18, behind a 5-1 run, but a kill from Pierucci tied the game at 25. Back-to-back Chattanooga errors gave the 'Cats a cushion, and kills from Hodge, Pierucci and Neale secured the
30-28 win.
Chattanooga took a 20-11 lead in the second game, but Davidson answered with a 9-1 run to get within one, 21-20. The 'Cats stayed close the rest of the way and survived three straight game points, but a service error lifted Chattanooga to a 30-28 win to even the match.
After the break, Davidson dominated the third game. Peele and Neale each had five kills, and the 'Cats hit a match-high .246 as a team. Senior Courtney Cron served seven straight points, and Davidson jumped out to a commanding
17-9 lead. The 'Cats held when Chattanooga put together a run of their own, getting as close as 20-14, and went on for an impressive 30-20 win to take a
2-1 advantage in the match.
The fourth and final game went down to the wire, but Davidson led for all but three times in the game that had 10 ties, as late as 28-28. After a Chattanooga timeout, Neale served out the game, and consecutive kills from Peele sealed the 30-28 win for the match.
Davidson will travel to Charleston, S.C., next weekend, facing The Citadel (5-22, 0-11) at 2 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 27 and league-leading College of Charleston (17-6, 11-1) at 2 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 28.
Georgia Southern 3, Wofford 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern volleyball team hit .380 through the first two games and .357 for the match in a 3-0 (30-13, 30-18, 30-27) victory over Wofford Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles, who have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 matches, improve to 8-16 overall and 5-7 in the Southern Conference. The Terriers drop to 9-15, and 2-9.
“We put together great passing, serving and blocking and did all of those very well, which I think was the difference in the match,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “Wofford is a great team and came in here and still played hard.”
In the first two games Georgia Southern trailed only once: after the first point of game two. Wofford hit just -.027 over that span, committing 17 errors with 15 kills.
The Eagles put together an 18-5 run in game one and started the second frame with a 14-4 rally. Freshman Michelle Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) had nine kills with no errors during that stretch.
The third stanza went back-and-forth and featured 12 ties and five lead changes. GSU broke an 11-11 tie with four straight points but Wofford battled back to eventually tie the score at 21-21 and then lead 23-22. But the Eagles responded with three straight points and never trailed again.
Uzoh finished with a match-high 11 kills and a .455 attack percentage. Junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) recorded 39 assists and senior Bailey Coleman (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) tallied a match-best 15 digs. Freshman Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) totaled five blocks, including three solo.
For Wofford, Lindsey Richardson posted eight kills and Sarah Palmer had 12 digs.
Georgia Southern returns to action Saturday with a match at Chattanooga.