UNCG 3, Chattanooga 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? The UNC Greensboro volleyball team had three players with double digit kills as UNCG swept fourth-place Chattanooga, 3-0 in Southern Conference volleyball action in Fleming Gym on Saturday afternoon. The win marks the first time the Spartans have defeated Chattanooga since the 2002 season.
UNCG (17-14, 10-7 SoCon) was led by Kaitlyn Nortz who tallied a match-high 14 kills and had a team-best .357 hitting percentage. Katherine Hart and Branagan Fuller also added 11 and 13 kills, respectively. The Spartans also had four players with double-digit digs led by Catherine Hanners who recorded 19 in the win.
Senior Lauren Keiser set a new career high with eight blocks while the Spartans as a team recorded a season-high 14 team blocks.
Chattanooga (17-13, 12-5 SoCon) was led by Jamie Engel who tallied 14 kills and Laura Newberry who recorded 19 digs in the loss. Bailee Chastain tallied 38 assists for the Lady Mocs.
In game one the Spartans took an early 4-1 lead with kills from Hart and Keiser but Chattanooga was able to find their offense and rattled of four consecutive points to tie the game. UNCG was able to swing the momentum and took an 11-9 lead behind great serving from Keiser and several kills from Fuller.
The score went back-and-forth with four lead changes but with Chattanooga leading 26-23, UNCG used timely kills and good defense to take a 30-29 lead but Chattanooga would force extra time after several UNCG miscues. With the game tied at 33-33, a kill from Emily Lindborg gave UNCG game point and a Chattanooga attack error gave the Spartans the win, 35-33 and a 1-0 match lead.
The second game proved to be just as much of a battle as the first game and it was Chattanooga that ran out to an early 10-8 lead but UNCG found a way to battle back and forced four ties before taking a 21-19 lead. The Lady Mocs used a kill from Engel and a Spartan miscue to cut the lead to 23-22 but UNCG extended its lead to 26-23 with back-to-back kills from Nortz and never looked back taking a 2-0 match lead with a 30-26 victory.
After the intermission the Spartans raced out to a 20-10 lead early but Chattanooga found a way to get back in the match and went on a 10-2 run to cut the UNCG lead to 22-20. The score see-sawed back and forth from that point and featured six ties down the stretch, With the score tied a 28-28 senior Lauren Keiser gave UNCG match-point with a kill and the Spartans took the 3-0 victory with a Chattanooga attack error.
The Spartans were able to hold the Lady Mocs to a 0.69 hitting percentage in the third game and forced them into 29 attack errors on the afternoon.
UNCG concludes the 2007 regular season Sunday when they welcome Western Carolina to Fleming Gym for a 2 pm match. The Spartans will honor seniors Lauren Keiser and Katherine Hart prior to the start of the match.
Elon 3 Western Carolina 0
ELON, N.C. - The Phoenix had two players reach double digits in kills and went on to sweep Western Carolina 3-0 Saturday afternoon in Alumni Gym. Elon improves to 17-14 (11-6 SoCon), while the Catamounts drop to 9-23 (4-13 SoCon).
Britany Westphal posted a match-high 16 kills, hitting .423 on the day. Jessica Barrow also reached double-digits for the Phoenix tallying 11 kills, while Lauren Copenhagen added nine.
Game one went to Elon 30-21 behind seven kills from Westphal. Copenhagen and Sarah Schermerhorn combined for a block as the Elon defense held the Catamounts to a .057 team hitting percentage.
In game two, Westphal tallied eight kills and hit .727 to lead the Phoenix to a 30-20 victory.
Schermerhorn broke a 13-13 stalemate with a kill in game three and the Phoenix never looked back, sealing the match with a 30-20 win.
Emily Lucci posted a block solo and two block assists for Elon. Kelley Blakewood led the Phoenix with 15 digs, while Natalie Moore dished out 45 assists.
The two teams, participating in the Susan G. Koman Dig for the Cure, raised more than $3000 between them. Elon raised a flat amount of $1406.00, adding $14.25 for each of its 45 team digs, while WCU raised $725.00, with $15.09 added for each of its 36 team digs. All in all, the two squads raised $3315.49 for breast cancer research.
The Citadel 3, Wofford 2
The Citadel volleyball team wrapped up their 2007 season on a positive note beating Wofford Saturday afternoon in Spartanburg. The Bulldogs were led offensively by junior Rachel Sanders with 23 kills followed by freshmen Jessica Maas with 13 and Tatum Jestila with 10, while junior Emily Hill dished out 49 assists. The Bulldog defense was just as impressive as they had six players with double-digit digs led by junior Ashley winter with 20.
In game one, The Citadel came out strong as they got an early edge on Wofford 9-4. The Terriers then responded by rallying for six straight points to tie and take the lead from the Bulldogs. The Dogs were not going to let this game slip away as they fought back to later tie the match at 19. The Bulldogs would later use a 5-1 exchange to put some distance between themselves and the Terriers at 28-23. Wofford tried to recover from the deficit, but it would be too late as The Citadel took game one 30-28.
The second game, was just as exciting as the first with The Citadel and Wofford finding themselves deadlocked at 11 halfway through the game. As the game progressed neither team could get an advantage and the score would become tied again at 18. From there the Terriers would use a 5-1 exchange to try and put the Bulldogs away. The Citadel would be able to hang in the game and closed the deficit to three points at 27-24, but the deficit would be too much as Wofford hung on to win game two 30-25.
The third game was almost an exact replica of game two as the teams battled back and forth with tie scores at 11 and 20. This time the Terriers would gain the lead, and the Bulldogs would again pull with in two points late in the game at 27-25. Unfortunately from there, The Citadel offense stalled a bit and allowed Wofford to steal game three as well 30-26.
Game four would follow suit, as neither team could get the edge they needed over the other as the score knotted at 13 at the midway point. The Terriers would then jump out to a small lead, but the Bulldogs quickly fought back to re-tie the game at 22. The Citadel then built a lead of their own that Wofford recovered from to once again tie the game at 27. Wofford would get their 28th point before hitting a scoring wall which allowed The Citadel to rally and take game four 30-28.
The final game would be more of the dramatic same dramatic volleyball action as the teams found themselves locked at six. The Bulldogs were able to get a slight lead on the Terriers and used a 6-3 exchange late in the game to win the game 15-11 and the match.
This was a great win for our young Citadel volleyball team who has played well the entire season and is well deserving of a conference win. The Citadel finishes off the season with an overall record of 6-28 and 1-17 in the Southern Conference. This win will propel the Bulldogs, who will return all players on the team, into the off-season in preparation for next year.
For complete coverage of Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
Appalachian State 3, Georgia Southern 0
BOONE, N.C. - After the Appalachian State volleyball team's 11-match winning streak was snapped, the squad responded on Saturday with a Senior Day sweep against Georgia Southern to secure the No. 2 seed for next week's Southern Conference Tournament. Seniors Dianna Thomas and Brittany Zahn each tallied 11 kills, while classmate Lorelle Rau added 34 assists and three blocks. The trio finish their home careers with a 41-10 record at the Holmes Center.
Game one saw the Mountaineers (18-13, 14-4 SoCon) hit an impressive .469, with 18 kills and just three errors. The team trailed by as many as four points early on, but after knotting the score at 12 and continued to roll off six straight points to take the lead for good. Heather Kale shined from late in the match with four aces in the midst of a seven-point run for the Apps. Kale finished the night with six of the team’s nine aces, along with six digs and two assists. Rau and junior Carla Durham connected on block to end the game and give ASU a 30-19 win. Durham posted a total of three blocks, 10 kills, and four digs in the regular season finale.
Appalachian built up a 12-6 lead in game two before the Eagles cut the game to one point. Becca Norris stuffed the first of her four blocks in the latter half of the game, and added three kills as the Mountaineers took the final four points of the game for a 30-22 win. Norris ended the game with five kills. Zahn collected the team’s final two kills before the intermission, and ended the evening with and ace and 10 digs.
Game three belong to the Apps as well, as the team scored three or more consecutive points on four occasions. The squad hit a match-low .132 with 15 kills and 10 errors, but held GSU to a negative hitting percentage in the game and just a .083 mark for the match. A kill from Norris stretched the lead to nine points at 24-15 before the seniors took over and played a role in five of the final six points of the match. The regular season ended with a Dianna Thomas ace which found its way into the back right corner of the court for the 30-23 triumph.
Pending Sunday’s conference finale between the two, the Mountaineers will face either Georgia Southern or Davidson on Friday in the opening round of the conference tournament in Chattanooga.
College of Charleston 3, Furman 2
The College of Charleston volleyball team defeated Furman 3-2 (20-30, 20-30, 30-28, 30-27, 15-13) in a marathon five-game match that clinched the Southern Conference regular season title for the seventh consecutive season. Deanna Patrick led the team in kills with 16, while Tiffany Blum led the Cougar defense with 11 blocks.
Charleston ends the regular season with a 22-7 record, owning a 16-2 conference mark. Furman falls to 20-8 overall and 13-5 in league play.
“This one was of the best matches I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. The emotion and energy on both sides of the net was great and created and intense environment,” Coach Jason Kepner said. “To beat a very good Furman team on their court on senior day took a special performance. I am very proud of this team today and how we responded in the last three games.”
Charleston fell behind 2-0 in the first two games of the match. The Paladins held Charleston to a .122, and a .000 hitting percentage in those games. This was the first time the Cougars have been held to a .000 percentage in a game this season. Charleston answered by winning the final three games of the match.
Trailing 10-5 in game three, Charleston called their first timeout. Furman went on a 6-0 run to make it a 18-11 game before Charleston scored three consecutive points to make it a 4 point game (18-14). CofC battled to tie the game at 21. The teams would tie two more times before a 3-0 run sparked by a Patrick kill gave Charleston the lead at 24-23. The teams battled for the remainder of the game until a kill by Blum sealed the game at 30-28 and forced a fourth game.
The fourth game saw Charleston earn a come from behind victory for the second straight game. The team fell behind 13-8 before the Cougars out together a 5-0 run to narrow the Paladin lead to one at 13-12. A bad set by Nicole Pallazo tied the game at 14 and forced Furman to call a timeout. A block by Patrick and Blum gave Charleston a 15-14 lead, but it was answered with a kill by Palazzo. The teams were deadlocked a 16 before a kill by Patrick gave Charleston the lead at 17-16. The teams would tie five more times before another Patrick kill gave CofC the lead for the rest of the game. A kill by Annie Uthe gave Charleston the win that tied the match a two, forcing a fifth and final game.
Furman scored eight of the opening 12 points of the final game before a kill by Patrick narrowed the Paladin lead to two at 8-6. Charleston scored three straight points to make it a 9-8 game. An attack error by Palazzo tied the game at 11, but consecutive Paladin kills gave Charleston a 13-11 advantage. CofC scored the final four points of the game to seal the game and the match, 15-13.
Patrick (16), Blum (15), Emily Sawin (13) and Cole Dawley (12) earned double-digit kills in the win. Five additional Cougars combined for 12 kills. The offensive attack was paced by a match-high 59 assists from Lindsey Kane. Megan Parkerson earned 44 digs, her second 30-plus dig game of the season. Blum’s 11 blocks gave her a double-double for the night. Four Cougars notched at least one block in the win.
Chibuzo Aguocha led the Furman offense with 29 kills, while Kerry Wooten and Palazzo combined for 25 kills. In addition to her 15 kills, Palazzo led the team in blocks with 13. Emily Harby recorded 10 blocks in the effort. Brooke Ellison paced the defensive effort with 32 digs.
Charleston returns to action Thursday, Nov. 15 as the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament.