Wofford 3, Savannah State 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C.-- In the season opener for Wofford volleyball, the Terriers claimed a victory (30-16, 30-17, 30-13) against a tired Savannah State during the FATZ Caf? USC Upstate Volleyball Tournament. The 4:30 p.m. match, located in Spartanburg, S.C., on the campus of USC Upstate, was the Lady Bulldogs’ second of the day.
Leading the Terrier offense attack were sophomores Joanna Suddath and Brittany Thompson. Thompson paced Wofford with 11 kills and 23 total attacks in her first match since 2005 due to missing all of last season with an injury. Suddath finished the match with the highest hitting percentage with .556 from five kills, no errors and nine total attacks. Suddath also ended the evening with a match high 31 assists.
Two Terriers completed the match in double digit digs. Junior Carolyn Rivers had 12 digs, while Thompson had 10.
Falling to Wofford created the Lady Tigers’ second defeat of the tournament after a previous loss of their season opener to USC Upstate. Pacing the Lady Tigers in kills was senior Donna Jenkins with seven on 21 total attacks. Junior Kari Parker led the team in total attacks with 23.
Junior April Hayes led Savannah State with 13 assists and 10 digs.
Wofford 3, Navy 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Saturday afternoon the Wofford Terriers (2-0) walked away with an impressive 3-0 win (30-24, 30-28, 30-21) against the U.S. Naval Academy (1-1) in the Fatz Caf? USC Upstate Volleyball Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C.
Game one saw a competitive back and forth affair in which Wofford pulled out the victory. During game two Navy took control and took an early advantage. However the Terriers battled back and regained momentum before capping the game two victory.
Wofford then used that momentum to lay claim to an early 10 point lead, 14-4 in game three before holding on for the sweep.
In team high performances sophomore Brittany Thompson completed 10 kills, 31 total attacks and 11 digs for the Terriers. The crowd witnessed a notable presentation by freshman Anna Gustafson with six kills, zero errors and 17 total attacks for a .353 hitting percentage.
With nine kills and 14 total attacks, junior Liz Sheets paced Wofford with a .500 hitting percentage, while sophomore Joanna Suddath led the Terriers in assists with 30.
Wofford also recorded eight total blocks as a team.
Junior Jessie Sims led the Midshipmen with 15 kills and 41 total attacks, while sophomore Krista Eschelman walked away with a .800 hitting percentage from four kills, no errors and five total attacks. Leading in assists was junior Marissa Watson with 31. Senior Aimee’ Burns completed the match collecting 12 digs.
Wofford 3, USC Upstate 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Wofford (3-0) claimed the Fatz Caf? USC Upstate Volleyball Tournament title after defeating host USC Upstate (1-2) in five matches (25-30, 30-25, 30-22, 24-30, 15-11). The 7 p.m. match in Spartanburg, S.C., proved itself the most competitive match in the tournament for the Terriers.
The Spartans were victorious in game one, before Wofford came back to claim games two and three. In a chance to take home the title in game four, the Terriers fell to the Spartans as they rallied for the last five points in the game. In game five, winner take all in just 15 points, Wofford grabbed and maintained the lead from the first point.
Offensively for the Terriers, junior Liz Sheets’ .381 hitting percentage led the team. Sophomore Brittany Thompson paced the match with a high of 17 kills and 54 total attacks. Chasing the lead, Sheets collected 11 kills and 21 total attacks, while not far behind, freshman Anna Gustafson gathered 10 kills and 37 total attacks.
Sophomore Joanna Suddath garnered a match high 48 assists.
On the defensive side, four Wofford Terriers collected digs in double digits. Pacing Wofford with a match high was junior Carolyn Rivers with 35. Rivers set a new school record for digs in a five game match in the Division 1 era. The previous record was 31.
The Terriers amassed 15 total blocks as a team, including eight assisted and one solo by Sheets.
Leading for the match was USC Upstate sophomore Morgan Bucciferro with a .667 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jesicah Ambrisco paced the team with 15 kills and 47 total attacks, followed by 14 kills and 39 total attacks by sophomore Katie Downy.
Junior Holly Mauldin recorded a team high 21 assists. Just one shy, Bucciferro finished the night with 20 assists.
As five Spartans gathered double digit digs, freshman Megan Healey paced the team with 26. USC Upstate recorded a team total 108 digs.
Chattanooga 3, Georgia State 2
ATLANTA, Ga. ? Senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) posted a game-high tying 58 assists, with 19 digs, and senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) registered a game-high 27 kills to lead Chattanooga (1-1) to a 3-2 victory over Georgia State (2-1) Saturday morning at the Georgia State Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. The Lady Mocs won 29-31, 25-30, 30-16, 30-28, and 15-11 to collect their first victory of the season.
Both teams got off to a fast start in the match’s opener with multiple lead changes before Georgia State pulled out to a 20-17 advantage. UTC rallied for three points to tie the score at 20-20. The score would be tied twice more, at 22-22 and 24-24, before the Lady Mocs went on a 5-2 run to reach game point, 29-26. From there the Panthers then rallied to score the final five points of the match for the 31-29 victory. Sophomore setter Noelle Boyd registered 20 of her game-high tying 58 assists in the opening frame.
In game two, Chattanooga, quickly built leads of 13-8 and 20-14 with the help of four consecutive kills from senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.), three of which were assisted on by Herndon, before the Panthers came alive. With the score at 21-16 UTC, Georgia State notched the next six points to take the lead 22-21 and ripped off a 16-5 run to close out the game, 30-25 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After seeing Georgia State comeback from three-point and six point deficits in the first two games to take a commanding lead, the Lady Mocs took no chances in Game 3 and wasted little time in taking a 5-4 lead. From that point, UTC reeled off 15 of the next 17 points to jump out to a 20-6 lead. Herndon and Ball fueled this resurgence, posting nine assists and six kills in the game, respectively, while junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added nine digs to help Chattanooga round out the 30-16 victory.
Following their impressive Game 3 victory, the Lady Mocs came out firing in the fourth game as the two teams played to a 7-7 tie after only a few minutes. At that point, the Lady Mocs mounted a 7-2 run to pull ahead 14-9 before extending to a 25-20 advantage. The Panthers rallied to tie the score at 25-25 behind back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Amy Lusk and maintained the tie at 27-27.
A service ace by senior Jamie Engel and a kill by senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) brought UTC to game point, 29-27. Following a point by Georgia State, Ball put the game away with a demonstrative kill for the 30-28 victory. That win tied the match at 2-2 and sent the two teams to a decisive fifth game.
Following a quick 1-0 lead by the Panthers at the start of the fifth game, Chattanooga took control, jumping out to a 5-2 lead on two kills by Engel before Georgia State rallied to pull within 7-6 midway through. Following two errors that made the score 9-6, GSU scored three of the next four points, including back-to-back kills by senior middle hitter Ana Paula Ferreira and Lusk, to make the score 10-9, UTC.
Chattanooga responded with their own pair of kills from junior Laura Nethery (Hixson, Tenn.) and Amundson sandwiched around a Panther service error to push the lead back to 13-9. Georgia State would pull to within 13-11 before Engel and sophomore Ashley Yeager (Parker, Colo.) put the match away with back-to-back kills for the decisive 15-11 victory.
The win is the first of the young season for the Lady Mocs while Georgia State entered the contest undefeated following straight sets victories over both East Tennessee State University, last year’s Atlantic Sun regular season champion, and the University of Central Florida.
In addition to Boyd’s 58 assists and 12 digs, the Panthers were led by Lusk with team-highs of 20 kills and 30 digs and Ferreira’s 18 kills and 19 digs. Freshman outside hitter Emily Dewey posted 22 digs.
For the Lady Mocs, Ball added 16 digs to go along with her 27 kills and registered an amazing .520 hitting percentage (27-50) with two service aces while Herndon contributed 19 digs in addition to her 58 assists. Newberry led Chattanooga on defense, posting a match-high 45 digs and Amundson chipped in with 11 kills and 11 digs. Yeager finished the day with 12 digs.
Chattanooga 2, Central Florida 3
ATLANTA, Ga. ? Freshman setter Blaire Brueggemeyer produced a match-high 61 assists and sophomore outside hitter Erin Cambell and senior outside hitter Schanell Neiderworder combined for 39 kills to lead the University of Central Florida (1-3) to a 3-2 victory over Chattanooga (1-2) Saturday evening at the Georgia State Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. The Knights won 30-20, 29-31, 32-34, 30-24 and 15-13 to collect their first victory of the season.
After an early Chattanooga lead to start off the match, UCF took control of game, grabbing a 20-16 advantage and closing out the first set with a 10-4 run for the 30-20 victory.
Quickly down a game, UTC fought back in the second game, getting to game point at 29-28 before a kill by Central Florida’s junior middle blocker Jenny Heppert tied the game. The Lady Mocs then responded with back-to-back kills from senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) to put the game away, 31-29, and tie the match at one game apiece.
The third game of the set was one very similar to many the Lady Mocs had played during the tournament, as both teams pushed past 30 points before one team claimed victory. UTC jumped out to early leads of 5-1 and 12-5, fueled by three early kills by Ball, before Central Florida battled back with a 16-9 run to tie the score at 21-21.
From there, Chattanooga retook the lead, 25-21, with four straight points before the Knights went on a 5-2 run of their own to tie the score at 27-27. A series of kills for each team tied the score once again, this time at 32-32, before two final kills, by sophomore Ashley Yeager (Parker, Colo.) and senior Jamie Engel (Troy, Ill.), put the game away for UTC, 34-32.
The fourth game saw both teams battled back and forth with multiple lead changes throughout the first portion of the game. With Chattanooga leading 18-17, UCF mounted a 13-6 run to take the game 30-24 and tie the match at 2-2.
Three consecutive kills, two by Yeager, got the Lady Mocs off to a strong start in the fifth game as they took an early 3-0 lead before the Knights rallied tied the score at 4-4. The two teams then exchanged points on each of the next five possessions to keep the score tied at 9-9. Two UTC errors and a kill by Neiderworder staked UCF to a 12-9 lead that they would not surrender. Chattanooga rallied for three of the next four points to pull to within 13-12 but would get no closer, falling 15-13 in the decisive fifth game.
Central Florida entered the contest with a 0-3 record following a 3-1 loss to Fordham and a 3-0 defeat to Georgia State on the opening day of the tournament and a 3-1 loss to East Tennessee State earlier in the day. For Chattanooga, it was the second consecutive five set match of the day. UTC defeated host Georgia State 3-2 earlier in the day.
In addition to Brueggemeyer’s 61 assists, the Knights received strong performances from Campbell, 20 kills and 11 digs, and Neiderworder, 19 kills and 14 digs, to go along with a team-high 34 digs from freshman Kristen Petrasic. Senior libero Cassie Ramaekers and freshman Brittany Turnbull each reached double-digits in digs, posting 18 and 14, respectively.
For the Lady Mocs, senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) registered 52 assists and nine digs while Ball posted a match-high tying 20 kills to go along with 10 digs and also notched an impressive hitting percentage of .436 (20-39). Senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) added 12 kills and 14 digs while Yeager finished with 12 kills and 11 digs on the evening. Engel chipped in with 11 kills.
With their performance over the weekend, several Lady Mocs moved up on the program’s all-time records lists. Bethany Herndon amassed 151 assists in three matches (13 games) for an average of 11.62 per game, moving her into second place all-time on the assist list with 2,818. Lara Newberry posted 96 digs over the three games, notching an average of 7.39 per game, and secured third-place on the all-time digs list behind #2 Kari Krouse’s 1,769 digs (2000-03). Senior Leslee Ball rounded out the group with 63 kills on the weekend which moves her into the top-10 all-time in ninth-place with 949 career kills.
Furman 3, Colorado 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. The Furman volleyball team had a successful start to the season, with a 3-2 win over Colorado at the AllState Sugar Bowl Volleyball Classic in New Orleans, La.
Colorado got off to a quick start by winning the first two games, but Furman rallied after the break to win the final three games and take the match.
Colorado jumped to an early 8-0 lead in the first game and took the game by a score of 30-14. The second game was closer, with several lead changes, but Colorado held on to win 30-24.
After the intermission, the Lady Paladins rallied to win the next three games with scores of 30-25, 30-28, and 16-14, fighting through numerous ties and lead changes.
Furman’s offense was led by senior outside hitter Chibuzo Aguocha, who recorded a team-high 17 kills. Junior Alison West contributed 16, while Nicole Palazzo led the team with a .565 hitting percentage. Junior libero Pamela Gehrke led the defense with 16 digs. Senior setter Courtney Stewardson added 13 digs and 46 assists to the Paladin’s winning effort.
The Lady Paladins recorded 19 blocks as a team.
Furman 1, Tulane 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. The Furman Lady Paladins dropped a match against Tulane tonight, evening their record to 1-1 for the season. With the 3-1 win, Tulane claimed the 2007 AllState Sugar Bowl Classic championship.
The Green Wave took game one with a close score of 30-27, led by the team’s net defense, who notched 6.5 blocks. Furman answered with a 30-27 victory of its own in game two, led by Chibuzo Aguocha’s seven kills and
.429 hitting percentage.
Tulane managed another 30-27 win in the third game behind Sara Radosevic’s five kills, followed by a 30-24 win in the fourth to clinch the match. The Green Wave recorded a .407 team hitting percentage in the fourth game to top the Paladins.
Furman was led by Aguocha’s 24 kills in the match, while libero Pamela Gehrke contributed 13 digs to lead the Paladin’s floor defense.
Junior Nicole Palazzo and senior Chibuzo Aguocha were also named to the all-tournament team.
Appalachian State 0, Eastern Michigan 3
Appalachian State 2, Charlotte 3
August 25, 2007 - CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Thirty-eight service errors in two matches were too much for Appalachian State University volleyball to overcome, as it fell to Eastern Michigan, 3-0 (30-25, 30-24, 30-25), and host Charlotte, 3-2 (26-30, 30-25, 30-15, 21-30, 15-6), on day two of the Comfort Suites Charlotte Invitational at Halton Arena.
Nearly every column of the final box scores from both matches were fairly even except for the service categories. Not only did Appalachian (1-2) commit 38 service errors in the two matches (15 vs. Eastern Michigan and 23 vs. Charlotte), compared to 15 combined for its opponents, but also recorded just six aces versus 15 for its foes.
In the first match of the day, both teams struggled hitting the ball, as EMU (3-0) put together just a .096 hitting percentage and ASU countered by hitting only .094 on the match. Appalachian was particularly ineffective in game one, hitting just .019 to fall into an early hole.
In the nightcap, the Mountaineers registered 69 kills, as compared to 55 for the 49ers, but were saddled with 14 more hitting errors than the host squad in the loss. Hitting percentage was the story in the fifth and deciding game of the match, with Charlotte (2-1) hitting .533 (nine kills, one error) and ASU hitting .000 (three kills, three errors).
Junior Carla Durham led the Apps in both matches. Versus the Eagles, the 6-2 middle blocker hit a team-best .235 (seven kills) and was in on a team high-tying four blocks. Against Charlotte, Durham once again led the Mountaineers in hitting percentage at .500 (15 kills) and was in on a match-high eight blocks, including two solos.
ASU’s lone representative on the all-tournament team, Charlotte native Brittany Zahn recorded match highs in kills with 12 and 24, respectively. Freshman Jordan Jesburg led the Apps in digs with 16 versus EMU and 14 against Charlotte.
Davidson 3, Radford 0
Davidson 3, UNC Wilmington 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Freshman Sarabeth Peele had an outstanding collegiate debut in her first two career matches, picking up a combined team-best 31 kills and the Davidson Wildcats opened the 2007 season in winning style with two 3-0 wins over UNC Wilmington (30-22, 30-17, 30-28) and Radford (30-22, 30-24, 30-28) at the UNC Greensboro/High Point Triad Challenge on Friday. Davidson starts the year 2-0 for the second straight year.
Peele picked up a combined 31 kills on 56 swings for a .446 hitting percentage against the Seahawks and Highlanders. The freshman also chipped in with 12 digs, three service aces and a block. Junior Kittery Neale was second with a total of 20 kills and three other Wildcats finished with 10 or more kills combined in the two matches.
Defensively, the senior duo of Katie Pierucci (22) and Lindsey Woeste (30) dug out a combined 52 digs in the two matches and three players shared the team lead with seven blocks each on the day.
Peele paced the Wildcats to a 3-0 win over Wilmington, collecting 15 kills on just 26 attacks and hitting .500 in her collegiate debut. Freshmen Hayley Lawson had 42 assists, and fellow classmate Jorden Benedict posted nine kills and a match-high four service aces, continuing the strong debut of the 2007 class. The seniors also made a solid showering with preseason all-conference selection Katie Pierucci adding 12 kills, Lindsey Woeste leading all players with 16 digs, and senior Courtney Cron getting four service aces.
The Seahawks took the first point of the match, but Davidson regained control and pulled ahead 15-11 to force Wilmington into a timeout. The Wildcats extended their lead, 20-15, but three straight errors forced a timeout. Back-to-back kills from Peele put the 'Cats back on track, and Davidson coasted to the 30-22 win to take game one.
Game two was back and forth before four straight points gave the Wildcats an 8-4 edge. Davidson extended its lead,19-12, and forced another Seahawk timeout. Cron served four straight points out of the break to put the ?Cats ahead, 23-12, and Neale put away the game-winner to deliver the 30-17 victory and match advantage.
Continuing its dominance, Davidson opened game three on a 6-1 run behind strong serving from Woeste. The Hawks marched back to knot the score at nine in the closest game of the match, but Davidson never surrendered the lead. The Wildcats pulled ahead 27-21, but lost five straight points to narrow the score, 27-26. A Seahawk error gave Davidson its first shot at match point, but Paula McConnell put away a pass from Jill Hoeck to make the score 29-28. Peele answered with her 15th kill of the day to give Davidson a 30-28 win in game three and the team's first win of the season.
Match two started much the same for the Wildcats as it did against the Seahawks with Davidson capturing a 30-22 victory. Junior Alison Dwyer gave Davidson a 10-6 advantage on back-to-back kills in the early going. Peele then gave the Wildcats a 26-20 lead later with one of her seven kills she recorded in game one, and the 'Cats went onto to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Pierucci gave Davidson one of its biggest leads to start the second game when she hammered home two kills for an 11-3 advantage. Radford came to within four, 16-12, on an attack error, but Davidson rattled off an 8-2 run for a 24-14 lead, and went onto take game two by the count of 30-24 when Neale finished it off with her fifth kill of the game.
After a short break between games, Radford regrouped and jumped out to a 7-3 lead due to some Wildcat errors. The game went back and forth from there, till Peele picked up a kill to give Davidson a slight 17-15 advantage. The Highlanders came back with a 7-1 run to regain the lead at 22-18, forcing the 'Cats to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Neale brought the Wildcats right back with two kills to tie things up at 27-all. After a Radford timeout, Davidson closed the door with a service ace and kills from Neale and Peele for the 30-28 come-from-behind win. Neale closed out the match picking up 15 or her 20 kills on the day against Radford.
Elon 3, SCSU 0
Elon 3, North Carolina Central 0
DURHAM, N.C. - In its final match of the weekend, the Phoenix defeated host ? North Carolina Central 3-0 (30-21, 30-19, 30-20) to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Elon was led once again by sophomore Mandy Wilson who tallied 13 kills and hit .765 in the match. Wilson was followed by seniors Britany Westphal (14 kills, .333) and Emily Lucci (7 kills, .357) and freshman Lauren Copenhagen (7 kills, .375).
In game one, Wilson led the squad with five kills on five total attacks for a 1.000 hitting percentage. Together, the Phoenix hit .680 in game one led by Wilson, Copenhagen (.667), Westphal (.600) and Lucci (.571). Freshman Sarah Schermerhorn had a team-leading three service aces in the first frame as the Phoenix went on to a 30-21 win.
Game two went to Elon 30-19, thanks to strong defensive performances from junior transfer Kelley Blakewood who had six digs, and Lucci, who posted three of the squad's five blocks. The Phoenix held the Eagles to a -.026 hitting percentage in the second game.
Westphal and Wilson led the Phoenix to a 30-11 victory in the final frame of the match, each tallying five kills and helping the team to a .387 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Phoenix managed 10 service aces and six blocks in the three-game set.
Defensively, Blakewood was on top with nine of the Phoenix’s 29 digs. Sophomore Emily Regan had 35 assists as Elon hit .409 and stifled NC Central's offense (.134).
DURHAM, N.C. - In round two of the North Carolina Central Invite, Elon swept South Carolina State 3-0 (30-16, 30-14, 30-9). Sophomore Mandy Wilson led the Phoenix in the first game, tallying six kills. Freshmen Lauren Copenhagen and Sarah Schermerhorn combined for a block, and Shermerhorn and junior-transfer Kelley Blakewood each logged four digs.
In game two, senior Emily Lucci recorded five kills, and Wilson added another four to her total. Junior Shelley MacBean posted eight digs as the Phoenix took the second frame by a score of 30-14.
Senior Britany Westphal led the way in the final game, tallying four kills (.667) and a service ace as the Phoenix went on to win 30-9. Elon's defense held the Bulldogs to a -.045 hitting percentage and posted three blocks in the third frame.
Together, the squad recorded a .508 hitting percentage, led again by Lucci (.833), Wilson (.579) and Westphal (.462). The trio combined for 29 kills in the match. Copenhagen and Blakewood posted 3 service aces a piece.
MacBean led the Phoenix defense tallying a team-high 11 digs. Wilson and Lucci recorded 12 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Phoenix improves to 2-0 on the season.
Elon will face host-North Carolina Central Saturday at 3 p.m. to wrap up play in the tournament.
Georgia Southern 3, North Florida 0
Georgia Southern 3, Stetson 1
Georgia Southern 0, Georgia 3
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) posted a double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs in her Georgia Southern debut to lead the Eagles to a tighly-contested 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-26) win over North Florida Friday night at Hanner Fieldhouse. The match was the season-opener for both teams and capped off day one of the GSU Invitational. GSU (1-0) faces Stetson tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. and UNF takes on Georgia at noon.
“I thought we came out and played tough,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “We have a lot of freshmen on the floor and I thought they handled themselves well. We really came together as a team and did some really nice things. We have a long way to go but it was a great start.”
Game one was all Georgia Southern, who used a 10-2 run mid-way through to take control.
GSU led by as many as seven early in the second frame but an 8-0 run put the Lady Ospreys up for the first time since the opening point of the match. But with the score knotted at 24-24, three straight service points from senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) gave the Eagles the lead for good.
Momentum swung back and forth in the final stanza and the teams traded the lead several times. GSU closed out the match on a 5-2 run and ended it on an ace from freshman Marissa Odom (Gainesville, Fla.). “North Florida came out and played great, especially in game two,” added McCray. “They took us out of our game a couple of times which made it a lot more difficult. Overall it was a great match and I think we passed well which enabled us to run our offense.”
Julio led all players with 11 kills and freshman Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) added 10 kills. Pereira notched a match-high 22 digs. Kavie Sturch posted nine kills for UNF and Nikki Prock totaled 14 digs.
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Stetson volleyball team used the momentum from an easy game one to pull out a hard-fought 3-1 (30-20, 31-29, 24-30, 30-28) win over Georgia Southern Saturday morning at the GSU Invitational.
Stetson (1-1) completes its involvement in the tournament later this afternoon against North Florida. GSU (1-1) takes on Georgia tonight at 7:30 p.m.
“Stetson came in here and played a great match,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “They were ready, they were definitely a different team from last night, they out-worked us for the most part, but how we respond will determine the true character of our team.”
Game one was all Stetson as they held the Eagles to a .100 hitting percentage and used a 15-1 run early on to lead by 13. Rebecca Orzechovicz had five kills during that run and Beth Slabaugh served 10 straight points.
A kill from freshman Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) gave Georgia Southern a 10-5 lead in game two but a 6-0 run by Stetson put the Hatters up one.
Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the game. GSU saved two game points to tie the score at 29-29, but an error and a kill by Karla Readshaw gave Stetson a 2-0 advantage.
Georgia Southern never trailed in game three but saw an early eight-point bulge drop to one, 24-23. Two kills from junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) and one from junior Christy Dowd (Indianapolis, Ind.) helped GSU cut the deficit in half.
Game four was a back-and-forth affair and after Stetson led 12-9, no more than a point separated the two teams until a collection of GSU errors late in the match pushed the Hatters to the win.
Orzechovicz totaled a team-high 16 kills to go along with 15 digs. Readshaw led the Hatters with 44 assists and 18 digs.
Four Eagles reached double-figure kills with Julio leading the way with 17. Junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) dished out 45 assists and senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) had a career-high 35 digs.
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia volleyball team held Georgia Southern to a .076 hitting percentage and had two players in double-figure kills, sweeping the Eagles 3-0 (30-21, 30-17, 30-22) to win the Georgia Southern Invitational. The Bulldogs run their record to 3-0 while the Eagles fall to 1-2.
“This was a very, very competitive tournament,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “It’s much different than last year. We had some high level teams here and Georgia outplayed everybody. They have a great team and a lot of different weapons. They came in here and took care of business.”
UGA did not drop a game in their undefeated run through the tournament. Erika Clark led all players with 13 kills and 15 digs. Britta Buethe also notched a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Mara Martin dished out 40 assists.
For Georgia Southern, junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) had 12 kills and senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added 13 digs.
After a relatively easy game one for Georgia, game two saw a nip-and-tuck affair with a tie score at 13-13. The Bulldogs rattled off seven straight points from the serve of Tournament MVP Maria Taylor to take a commanding 20-13 lead. UGA dropped just four points the rest of the way.
Of the 14 players on GSU’s roster, nine are newcomers, including eight freshmen. Three of those saw significant playing time tonight. “I think the freshmen have done a really, really good job,” added McCray. “They’re all a lot tougher than we thought they would be coming in and they’ve handled themselves well. The only way they’re going to learn is by getting experience and if we can do that now against good teams, that will help us in conference.”
The Eagles return to action Tuesday with a road match at in-state foe Kennesaw State.
“There’s nothing like competition and competing against somebody else is what we really needed,” said McCray. “We see what we’re doing well and what we need to work on and we’ll go back in the gym on Monday and get after it.”
UNCG 3, Radford 0
UNCG 3, UNC Wilmington 1
GREENSBORO, NC ? The UNC Greensboro volleyball team had four players with double-digit kills and digs as they defeated Radford, 3-0 on the opening day of the UNCG/HPU Triad Challenge Friday afternoon. The Spartans went onto win their second match against in-state rival UNC Wilmington, 3-1.
Junior Kaitlyn Nortz led the UNCG offense against Radford and recorded a match-high 13 kills. The Parma, OH native also added five service aces and four block assists. Sophomore Branagan Fuller tallied 12 kills and had one block while Wheaton, IL native, Lisa Fawell recorded a match-high 40 assists.
UNCG rushed out to a 5-1 lead against Radford but the Highlanders were able to rally and cut the lead to 8-7 to keep the game close. The teams went back-and-forth for most of the game and tied at 29 before UNCG took the final two points to win the game.
In the second game, the Spartans grabbed the early lead and held on to win 30-22. UNCG again raced out to an early lead in game three and Radford tried to cut into the lead on several opportunities but the Spartans came out on top and took the final game by a score of 30-18.
Fuller led the offense for the Spartans against UNC Wilmington by tallying a match-high 20 kills along with four service aces and 11 digs. On the defensive end Catherine Hanners led the way with a match-high 20 digs.
UNCG started game one against the Seahawks fast and was able to run out to a early 3-0 lead but the Seahawks battled back and were able to take a play catch-up and tied the game at 20 and then took the next point to take their first lead of the game. The teams went back and forth for the rest of the match but it was UNCW who held on for a 30-28 win.
In the second game the score see-sawed back and forth in the early goings but the Spartans were able to pull ahead 5-4 and never looked back taking the game, 30-17. UNCW kept it close in the third game but weren’t able to take any momentum away from UNCG as the Spartans kept the lead the entire game and came away with the 30-20 win. The fourth game was all UNCG as the Spartans opened with a 3-0 run and went on for the 30-13 win.
Western Carolina 0, Eastern Illinois 3
McNeese State 3, Western Carolina 0
DALLAS, Tex. - Western Carolina volleyball dropped a pair of matches in the final day of the SMU Invitational Saturday in Moody Coliseum. The Catamounts fell to Eastern Illinois 3-0 (30-15, 30-26, 30-12) and McNesse State 3-0 (30-22, 30-27, 30-17).
In the opening match of the day against Eastern Illinois, Western Carolina struggled against EIU and could never really gain any ground. The club ended the match with a 0.74 hitting percentage.
Freshman Ali Rook again led the club in kills with seven, followed by Kara Lynzee Brooks who had six. Liz Rondone registered 11 digs.
Against McNeese State, Western Carolina suffered a blow in the second game when libero Rondone went down with an injury. It was the second injury of the weekend for Head Coach Stephanie Dragan who lost freshman Jelena Jakovljevic to a minor injury before the tournament began. Both players are being evaluated and expected to be back in rotation soon.
"This weekend didn't turn out the way I planned," Dragan admitted. "The injuries really hurt but we did get some quality play out of the athletes and our freshmen got a lot of exposure to the game."
Rook again topped the Catamounts in kills with nine against McNeese State and she shared the top kills honor with sophomore Katie Hennesseey who also had nine. Senior Meredith Harmon had eight kills and committed just one attack error for a .333 attack percentage. Brooks also had 10 digs in the match.
For the weekend, Rook had 28 kills in three matches averaging 3.11 kills per game and was named to the SMU Invitational All-Tournament Team Harmon had 19 kills and Hennessey notched a total of 18.