No. 6 UNC Greensboro 3, #2 Appalachian State 1
PHOTOS
Chattanooga, Tenn.-UNC Greensboro keeps their Cinderella story alive with a upset of the No.2 seeded Mountaineers 3-1. Branagan Fuller and Katherine Hart recorded double digit kills and Lauren Keiser anchored the Spartans defense with 31 digs. Lauren Swecker, Carla Durham, Dianna Thomas and Brittany Zahn all had double digit kills for the Mountaineers.
UNC Greensboro will advance to the championship game against the No.1 seeded College of Charleston on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Maclellan Gymnasium.
Game one saw Appalachian State jump out to an early 4-1 lead over UNC Greensboro with kills by Durham, Swecker and Rau. UNC Greensboro fought back with a 9-1 run capped off by a kill from Lisa Fawell. Appalachian State went on an 11-4 run to come back and take a 17-14 lead on a hitting error by UNC Greensboro. Greensboro tied the game at 19-19 with a kill by senior outside hitter Lauren Keiser. UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State battles back and forth until a kill by Branagan Fuller put the Spartans ahead 24-23. UNC Greensboro took the lead at 26-25 on a hitting error by Appalachian State and held onto the lead to win 30-27.
In game two, UNC Greensboro started with an 8-4 courtesy of five kills, three hitting errors by Appalachian State and a service ace by Lauren Keiser. The mountaineers tied the game at 15-15 on an attack error by outside hitter, Branagan Fuller. Appalachian State went on a 9-4 run to take a 24-19 lead on the heels four kills by Swecker, two kills by Thomas and two hitting errors by the Spartans. UNC Greensboro battled back to take the lead at 27-26 on a hitting error the mountaineers. The game would be tied again at 27-27 but the Spartans pulled away with kill by Fuller, a service ace, and a kill by Lindborg to win 30-28.
Game three, saw the Spartans jump out to a 10-4 lead with the help of five kills, four errors by the Mountaineers, and a service ace by Kimiko Naito. UNC Greensboro held the lead for 27 points, until the Mountaineers tied the game at 21-21 with a service ace by Heather Kale. The score went back and forth with no team gaining a big advantage on one another. The game tied at 28-28 the Mountaineers closed the game out with a kill by Thomas and a hitting error by the Spartans to win 30-28.
The Spartans started game four leading 7-1 behind three errors, three kills, and a service ace. UNC Greensboro continued to score points and held onto the lead for the remainder of the game. The Spartans closed out closed out game four with two kills by all-conference member Kaitlyn Nortz and Branagan Fuller to win 30-22.
No.1 College of Charleston 3, No. 4 Chattanooga 2
PHOTOS
Chattanooga, Tenn.-Tiffany Blum and Annie Uthe helped College of Charleston enter Sunday’s Championship game with their offensive performance. Blum had 21 kills while Uthe had 17 and Kane dished out 54 assists. Chattanooga got offensive production from Julianna Martinez who had 21 kills.
College of Charleston will face the winner of the UNC Greensboro/Appalachian State match on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Maclellan Gymnasium.
In game one, all-conference first team member Tiffany Blum and second team member Annie Uthe paced the Cougars offense with five kills apiece. The Cougars got off to a quick start with three straight kills from middle blocker, Annie Uthe. The cougars kept the pressure on the Lady Mocs by taking a 11-5 lead on Cole Dawley’s service ace. The Cougars didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the first game and put away the Lady Mocs with kills by Patrick and Uthe.
The Lady Mocs got off early going on a 10-5 run to start the second game. The Cougars fought back with 7-0 run to take the lead 12-10. The Lady Mocs reeled off five straight points to regain the lead at 15-12. Each team went on small runs with no team taking a lead over three points. The game tied at 27-27, the Cougars scored three straight points on two kills and a hitting error by the lady Mocs to win 30-28.
In game three, Lara Newberry, the Libero-of-the-Year broke the NCAA single season record for digs in a season. The original record, which was set in 2004 when the Libero was given unlimited substitutions in the 30-point format, was 924 held by Paula Gentil of Minnesota and Lara Newberry broke the record making a diving dig to keep the point alive. The Lady Mocs lead all of game three, with the highest advantage being seven. The Lady Mocs went on to win game three 30-23.
Game four saw the score drift back and forth in the beginning of the match but Chattanooga took a 11-7 lead on a service ace from Aurore Kullak. The Lady Mocs went on a six point run to take a even point lead at 17-10. Chattanooga didn’t relinquish the lead after that point winning 30-22 on a Sarah bass kill.
Game five started with Tiffany Blum getting three kills and two hitting errors by Chattanooga put the Cougars up 5-3. The Lady Mocs came firing back to go on a 7-2 run and take the lead 10-7. Tiffany Blum tied the game up at 11-11 with a kill and two attack errors by Chattanooga gave the Cougars a 13-11 lead. Two kills by Sara Bass put the Lady Mocs within one point at 13-14 but a hitting error by Bailee Chastain gave the Cougars a 15-13 victory